Tales of the Closet
by RavenOnline
Summary: more trouble,BB sees Raven naked, Star n' Rob share a moment, Cy and Lisa, RedX and Starfire! Finally updated baby! Chapter twenty one!
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I never owned the Teen Titans, I wish I did, but I don't…okay this disclaimer is WAY too long. Just read the story!

Chapter one: Boxed In a Closet

Beast Boy sat in his room, drops of sweat dripping from his chin, the smell of sweat was all over his room, from his underarms and feet, but he didn't care, his entire attention was devoted to the 19 inch screen in front of him, five cups of Cola were on his desk and he pushed them away, dropping them on the floor, revealing a half eaten slice of pizza, he grabbed it with one hand and started eating, without removing his eyes from the screen. A bit of pizza fell on his shirt, a black T-shirt with the word "ZERG 4 EVER" written in orange letter on it, under the writing was a drawing of some creature with large claws.

Cyborg was in the same situation as Beast Boy, sitting in his room, which was dark; the only light in the room came from the computer screen. Cyborg wiped some sweat off his forehead and cleaned it on his shirt, a black T-shirt like Beast Boy's only his had the words "TERRAN ALL DA WAY" written in blue letters and to the sides, two odd looking fighter jets flying.

"I'm gonna get you ya little grass stain, or my name isn't Cyborg" he muttered to himself and clicked the mouse

"Transmit orders" came a voice from his speakers. He clicked again "Affirmative sir" replied his speakers

"What the heck is he doing?" Asked Beast Boy loudly. On his screen was a large round flying object hovering on the ground "Why is he sending his science vessel all alone like that?" he yelled at the wall "Oh well, it's his loss" he muttered to himself and hit the 1 2 and 3 buttons, each time clicking his mouse on the helpless science vessel, 36 flying beasts called Mutalisks growled in response and started flying towards the hapless flying machine

"BOOYAH! I gotcha now ya soybean loving sucker!" yelled Cyborg. He hit the 1 2 and 3 buttons like Beast Boy did and was welcomed by a smooth voice saying "Wraith awaiting launch orders" , with each push of a button he, like the shape shifter, ordered the fighters, which resembled the ones on his T-shirt to attack Beast Boy's flying beasts. The two groups met and started attacking each other, Cyborg pressed the C button and suddenly, his fighters vanished and continued slaughtering Beast Boy's troops, he then hit the "RETURN" key and started typing. When he was done, a beeping was heard and Beast Boy read what was written on his screen

CYB0RG: U can't kill wat U can't C BB…LOL

"I just hope my distraction worked" muttered Cyborg as he monitored a small vessel called a_ DROPSHIP_ carrying its deadly payload towards Beast Boy's base. The _DROPSHIP_ reached its destination and unloaded two soldiers. When Cyborg noticed that, he pressed the 0 button "Finally" muttered the on-screen character, Cyborg clicked on an icon which looked like a yellow mushroom cloud and clicked again, in the middle of the green skinned boy's base "Never know what hit 'em" responded the two troops and pointed their guns towards the location. A few moments later, sirens ripped through Beast Boy's speakers and a twisted, distorted voice said

"Nuclear launch detected"

"Oh man! No!" screamed Beast Boy, he searched his base for a red dot and nine seconds later, he found it "Gotcha!" he said joyfully when he noticed the two missiles coming down from the sky "OH MAN!" he shouted, witnessing his former stronghold being reduced to a bleeding pile of rubble "YOU HAVE BEEN DEFEATED" said a sign in the middle of his screen. He turned his computer off with anger and left the room, just to see Cyborg's face across the hall

"Now…where was I" pondered Cyborg "Oh yeah! I gotcha! I gotcha! Who gotcha? I did! That's right, I did! And now for your challenge"

"Lay it on me dude, there's absolutely nothing you'll say that I haven't already-"

"I dare you to spy at Raven for the next week!" Screamed the bionic man, Beast Boy's jaw dropped "Starting NOW!" he grinned

"No way dude! There's no way I'll-"

"You agreed to the bet, I told you I was a better StarCraft player than you, but did you listen? NOOOOOO…. Now face the consequences!"

"But…"

"No"

"Dude…"

"No"

"But Raven will…"

"No…"

"She'll kill me man"

"No"

"Cyborg!!"

"No, now get going!"

"Fine!" He muttered "But if you'll find me nailed to some wall on a garage sale, it's on your account!"

"Get going!"

The changeling sighed and walked towards Raven's room. He slowly opened the door and entered.

"Whoa…Raven's seriously worked the dark voodoo that she do so well on this room" he said to himself while walking around her room.

"Now for some snooping around" came a thought to his mind and he turned towards her bed, he tossed the blanket off the purple bed and came across a pile of books and magazines, mostly beauty magazines and mystery books. He flipped some pages and found a dressing quiz

"How often do you wear black undergarments…" he hummed to himself "OFTENLY?!" He screamed with surprise "Our Raven? Black? No way, she cheated, wait a sec, it is Raven we're talking about, kinda figures out right? Who am I talking to anyway?" he thought to himself when he heard the door sliding open "Gotta hide!" he whispered and took a dive into Raven's closet, closing the doors behind him

"Let me rest for a couple of hours Star, we'll go jogging again tonight" said Raven. She took off her jogging shoes and jumped on the bed

"First, music then shower, then sleep and to top it all, an evening jog with Star" she said to herself with a somewhat happy tone. Raven rolled off her bed and reached for her stereo's remote, she hit the play button and got up, dancing to the music

_She's always calculated, she's always in control_

_No emotions, no expressions_

_This girl has got to go…_

About in the middle of the song, Raven paused the music and started wandering across her room "_I could swear I heard something_" she thought. Inside the closet, Beast Boy bit one of Raven's cloaks, to stop himself from laughing

Raven pulled her shoulders and played a different song

_One man came, across the sea, he brought us pain and misery_

_He killed our tribes, he killed our dears, he took our game, for his own needs_

_We fought him hard, we fought him well, out of the flames, we gave him HELL!_

_But when he came, to rush the queen oh where will be our misery_

_Running through dust squeals and baron wastes, galloping hard on the plains_

_Chasing the wind skins back to their holes, beating them at their own game_

_Murder for freedom, for stabs in the back, women and children and cowards ATTACK!_

"_This is the music she listens to? No wonder she's so grouchy_ " Thought Beast Boy to himself. Raven played some more songs and suddenly stopped the stereo. She brought her nose to her left armpit and took a big whiff

"Whew!" she screamed while flapping her right arm against her nose "Shower Raven, NOW!" she commanded herself and started undressing. Beast Boy's eyes widened as he saw Raven removing her tight black body suit "well what do you know…she didn't lie at that quiz" he mentally chuckled when he saw the black undergarment covering Raven's bottom, she stepped into the shower and shut the door

"Leave, friend Beast Boy, leave before it is too late" said a voice to his right. He turned his head and saw Starfire, a very small version of her, dressed in white, standing on his right shoulder.

"STAR?! What are you doing here?!" screamed the changeling, putting his hands to his mouth, the sound of the water stream stopped and Raven's head appeared through a crack in the door

"Who's there?!" she demanded, no response "I know someone's in here!" her head entered the shower again and the sound of the water against the floor of the bathroom could have been heard again

"C'mon BB, you know what you want to do, morph and go watch her, you know you want to" said a voice to his left. He turned his head and saw a miniature Slade standing on his left shoulder, glowing red.

"_Well that figures_" he thought "_Star is the ultimate good and Slade, well, he's the bad guy_"He could hear Raven wondering inside the shower

"Towel, towel…oh, where did I put that darn thing?" the door knob started turning and steam flushed the room, coming from the shower and Raven stepped out

"_Close you eyes BB, she's Raven, your friend, not some sleazy girl in a magazine, not that you look in any of them, you just read the articles. You must be strong…must be firm…must be…be…be…be…BOOBS_!"

Raven opened to closet doors and bolted towards the closet, constantly mumbling "Cold…cold…cold…" She opened the closet doors and reached in "Here you go…" she said to herself. At the "Ceiling" of the closet, a green fly drew a sigh of relief, Raven dried herself and changed into her P.J's "Now for an hour of sleep and then a jog"

She covered herself with the blanket and closed her eyes. Beast Boy listened to her breathing, which became quieter and quieter with every minute passing. He stuck his head out of the closet door and saw her sleeping soundly. He crept out of the closet door and started walking towards the black door

"No…don't go away…" whispered Raven, Beast Boy froze stiff and turned, eyes as wide as coffee mugs, towards the sleeping dark girl

"Pink strawberry ice cream? I'd love some…" she said with a smile, turned around and continued sleeping

"_That was close_" he said and quickly left the room, closing the door silently behind him.

"Cyborg! Cy!" he screamed as he raced across the hallway

"What is it BB?" asked the mechanical man

"I SAW-!" he screamed when he noticed Robin and Starfire staring at him. He pulled Cyborg to the corner and whispered

"Do you swear you'll keep quiet after I'll tell you this? 'Cause if you don't, I'll hurt you dude, I'll hurt you bad" He grabbed Cyborg by the neck and came closer to him. Although Cyborg wasn't really choking, he nodded.

"Dude, I saw Raven NAKED!" said the changeling in a half whisper-half shout

"SHUT, UP!" Yelled the teen android in stun. Robin and Starfire turned towards him and in response, he drew a half-smile and waved towards them in a "Everything's-okay" kind of way.

"Dude, let's go talk about it in YOUR room okay?" suggested the green teen (A/N: hey that rhymes!)

"Okay B, but you'll tell me everything, including all the spicy details, clear?" Demanded Cyborg

"Crystal clear sir!" replied Beast Boy with a fake salute "Let's move out!"

"Come back mister Ice Cream man" mumbled Raven in her sleep "Mmm…I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream"

"Raven? Raven wake up, it is I, Starfire, you are late for our jog, please do not force me to use strength in order to wake you up"

"Star…Starfire? What are you doing here?" asked Raven with confusion "Oh" she said while rubbing her head "It was just a dream, yeah Star, just let me get dressed and let's go"

The half demon walked towards her closet, opened the doors and pulled out blue training pants and a black shirt with "Come closer…and die" in blood red letters. She turned towards Starfire, who was still sitting on her bed, staring at her, Raven cleared her throat and pointed at the wall

"Do you mind?" she asked the Tamaranian

"Not at all, I love the black color of the wall" Said Starfire with a smile

"What I meant was…turn around!" shot the Goth

"Oh, sorry" said Starfire and turned, she was now facing the black wall

"OK, I'm ready Star, let's go and…uh…get it over with" remarked the half demon in a bored tone "Hey what the…" she grabbed the back of her shirt "It's all wet! And look at those teeth marks! Someone's gonna pay for this!" she mumbled as she and Starfire left the tower and started running circles around the tower's island

Author Notes:

I think you think the first chapter is kinda lame, if you don't, good for you! And if you do, tough! I'll try to make the next ones a bit more interesting though. Just remember the three most important laws inthe reader's outh:  
REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!

Laters!


	2. Flu Bug, Love Bug and All in Between

Hey, whatd'ya know? I got four reviews! That's four more than I got for friends' first chappie! Anyway, good to see you CrazyDeafGirl, we should really talk with Emails or something.

Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own any of the Teen Titans, but if you all give me five bucks per word, I just might be able to sweet talk Raven into marrying me.

Chapter 2: Flu Bug, Love Bug and all in Between

Beast Boy woke up and looked at his watch, the green digits noted 6:47

"_What am I doing up so soon_?" he asked himself when a sharp pain went through his brain. The changeling grabbed both sides of his head while screaming "Mondo ice cream pain! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" He bolted to the kitchen and drank all the hot water in Raven's tea kettle in one gulp

"Glad that's over wi-" his words were clouded by his own loud sneeze. He sniffed and wiped his nose with his index finger, noticing it was wet; he walked to the bathroom and took a look in the mirror, what he saw there made him take a few steps pack and to take a fearful gasp. It was him, Beast Boy, but he didn't look like any other day, his nose was red and puffy, his eyes tearing and a rather disgusting looking green substance was at the end of his left nostril.

"Man! I look like…like-" the entire tower rocked from side to side and the walls were colored in glowing negative black, it lasted for a millisecond and the stopped, giving the green skinned boy enough time to leave the small bathroom and start racing towards the living quarters or Barracks as Robin liked to call them when it happened again, this time the boy was knocked off his feet and onto the red carpet which was now colored glowing black. Beast Boy got up and ran towards the second last room in the corridor, he knocked at the steel door and asked "Raven? You okay?"

"Go away" came the door's reply, Raven's voice sounded like she was talking with a stuffy nose. Although the direct order to go away, a green worm crawled its way under Raven's door and morphed back to Beast Boy, the boy looked at the dark figure who was lying in bed, Raven looked a lot like him, with a stuffed red nose, her long purple hair messed up, the usually violet eyes tearing and slightly red and her face flushed. The Goth looked back at him and sighed "You got it to?" she asked while blowing her nose in a white tissue

"Looks like it" he replied, waiting for the second "Go away" to come and escort him out of the dark room

"Well" she said while trying to get up, giving up on the idea shortly after trying "You can stay here, under two conditions: one, it's on your own risk and two, you'll get your own teacup and go warm up another go of hot water, deal?" she sneezed, black energy surged from her body and onto the tower, rocking it like a bottle of cola

"You mean I can stay? In your room? Cool!" he said after getting up from the floor. The boy bolted from the sanctum of the Goth girl and again, to the kitchen, he filled the silver kettle with water, boiled them and raced back to Raven's room

"Thanks B" she said and pored herself another cup of her infamous herbal tea. Beast Boy just stood there, rocking forward and backwards, never taking his eyes off Raven

"Hey Beast Boy, um…what's with you?" asked Raven, that snapped the changeling out of his trance

"I wa…was just la…looking for a…a place to sit at" he explained, mentally slapping himself with a voice screaming in his head "You idiot!"

"Oh" she replied, removing some of her dark purple blanket, revealing a patch of black sheets "You can sit here if you want ta…taa….CHOOO!" she sneezed again, nearly knocking the building off its foundations

"Bless you" he giggled while serving her with a tissue, he took a bow and said in a British accent "Your handkerchief milady"

Raven laughed lightly and took the tissue from his hand

"Wait…did you just…laugh? At one of my jokes?" he put his hand on her forehead and then pulled it back quickly, shaking it like he was touching something sizzling

"Wahoo Raven! You're burning up!" he screamed

the half-demon giggled again, pulling him a bit closer to her with a splash of black energy

"See, since this flu thing got my powers going haywire anyway, I decided 'what the heck? I might as well show some emotions" she explained "Oh and by the way, just for you to know, I always thought you were a little funny"

a few moments of silence went between the two teens, where they just stared at each other; those moments were interrupted by Beast Boy's loud sneeze

"Um…you know what we need? A little music!" said the changeling, seeing Raven trying to hide her already blushed cheeks, which just turned redder.

"G…good idea B" she replied

"did he see me blush?" crossed a thought through her brain

"of course he did, silly" replied a giggling voice

"I'm afraid so" added a somewhat tired voice

"yup" summarized Valor

"Umm…hey BB, how about some music?" asked Raven

"Music 'ill be good" he said shortly, grabbed the remote and hit the PLAY button

_I could stay awake…just to hear you breathing…_

_Watch your smile while you're sleeping, while you're far away dreaming…_

_I could spend my life, in this sweet surrender…_

_I could stay lost in this moment…forever_

_Where as every moment I spend with you, is a moment I treasure…_

They both looked at each other's eyes; both couldn't control the wide smile spreading over their faces

_I don't want to close my eyes_

_I don't want to fall asleep, cuz I miss you babe_

_And I don't want to miss a thing_

_Cuz even when I dream of you…the sweetest dream will never do_

_I still miss you babe_

_And I don't want to miss a thing_

"Um…Beast Boy? Can you stop making goo-goo eyes at me? Wait; did I just say goo-goo eyes?" Raven still stayed at the same position, so close to the boy that he could almost sense her

"You stop it first" he said in a dazed voice

"I…I can't" she replied shamefully

"Well I can't either" he said with a smile that made Raven almost fully convinced that he was drugged

"Beast Boy? Can I tell you something?"

"Sure"

"Just don't go on telling this to everyone"

"Okay"

"I…"she gulped "I l…lo…lo…CHOOO!!!" they were both blasted back, banging their heads against the opposing walls of the dark room.

"You okay Rae?" asked the shape shifter

"Yeah" she muttered "I just banged my head against the stupid closet"

"The closet?! Well….will you look at the time" Beast Boy looked at his watch "8:20, gotta go make some breakfast" and with that, he raced out of the room, leaving Raven confused, staring wide eyed at the closet's doors, rubbing her head

He ran to the living room, finding the other three Titans watching T.V when the building rattled again, this time it was stronger

"Earthquake!" screamed Starfire

"Monster attack!" shot Cyborg

"We're under an air strike!" said Robin while ducking under the large table

"Dudes, it's Raven!" shouted the shape shifter

"Raven? What'dya mean Raven?" asked The Boy Wonder while getting up from under the table

"She's got some Azerathian flu thing going on and every sneeze she sneezes is…well you just felt it" explained the green teen

"Great…" sighed Cyborg "A flu bug turned Raven into an artillery cannon?"

"In a way…yeah" said Beast Boy

"I think we should quarantine the Barracks" suggested Robin

"and where will we be sleeping?!" roared the mechanical man

"I call on the living room!" yelled Robin

"I'll stay in the garage, with my baby" added Cyborg and walked away

"And I'll be in the 'Barracks', well, someone's gotta keep her company right? And seeing I'm also si…si….CHOO! I'm the best man for the job" declared Beast Boy and trailed off towards the 'contaminated area'

"Pardon me robin, but may I also dwell in the room of living along with you?" asked Starfire

"S…Sure Star"

"Goo…."she yawned "…D, as I am still tired from contest of flying that we have conducted last night"

"Yeah…I forgot to thank you for helping me test flight the R-Jet's super sonic flight engine last night"

"And how is the engine of super sonic flight doing?" she asked

"Like clockworks, thanks to our little race, I've been able to sort out a few bugs in the flight computer…if you want I can set you a flight in a few hours" suggested Robin

"That will be marvelous! Thank you friend!" she kissed him passionately, their lips locked tight together, Robin put his arms around her and held her close to him when she suddenly broke loose and flew away, leaving The Boy wonder staring into space, still in the same position he was when their lips came together, thinking "_What just happened? Did I kiss her wrong? Maybe it's the wrong way to kiss someone in Tamaran? Did I hurt her? Did my breath smell? What did I do wrong?!_"

He ran to the flight hangar that him and Cyborg built last week, he loved that place, it was like his own private Ivory tower and he could think when he was in there. "_Think, Yeah, that's a good idea, all I need is to think and I'll solve this. Man, this is so ironic, I've battled evil monsters, psychotic villains, Robot commanders and that crazy Kitty chick, but I can't tell what I did wrong when I kiss one girl? Jeez, so much for the all knowing superhero_" Robin sat on the left wing of the R-Jet, his own hands work, like the R-Cycle and the R-fighter, also known as the R-Copter. His legs dangled from beneath the wing as he rocked them back and forth, pondering about what happened.

Author Notes:

I wanted to make one story that will be fluff-less, I really did, honest. But then I heard an angry mob forming in the back of my head screaming "We want fluff! We want fluff!" I couldn't help writing Tales of the Closet. I promise my next story will have as less fluff as possible and to the people who love fluffy stories, don't worry, this one has many more fluff-dripping chapters….I think.

Sayonara dudes!  
Peace out!


	3. Payback, Retribution and Retaliation

15 Reviews! That is SO awesome!!! I see you peeps like the fluff so I'll keep it up. Just for you all to know, there's an idea of another brand new story cookin' up in the old noggin, I'll probably publish the alpha chapter in a couple of weeks or so, you have my word!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans, George W. Bush, Children of Bodom, KoRn and StarCraft. But I do own all the rest of the world!!!(That does not include all my readers) ok…not a funny disclaimer…stop looking at me, why are you laughing? Shut up! I told you to shut up!

Chapter 3: Payback, Retribution and Retaliation

Cyborg raised his head from the T-car's windshield and looked outside the garage's window, a red aircraft with black lines and a yellow R on each of its pulled back wings screamed across the blue skies, cutting through the cotton white clouds in its path. A sound of something spilling filled the android's ears and as he looked down, he noticed that his bottle of "Cy's Clean away" was spilled all over the windshield. He gave out a scream that was so high pitched it sounded like a girl's scream

"Robin! I'm so gonna get you for that dawg!" he screamed at the R-Jet which was heading towards the outskirts of Jump City.

"_Trips like this always help me think_" crossed a thought trough The Boy Wonder's head; he remembered the midnight patrols in the Bat-Jet, during the time he fought along the side of Bruce Wayne, the notorious Batman. The red fighter reached the outskirts of the large metropolis and as Robin noticed that, he punched in some buttons and hit the Master Arm key on his left side

"Patrol mode engaged Robin" said a computerized voice. The R-Jet started making large circles around Jump City and inside it; Robin removed his gas mask and leaned back against the black seat, pondering about the previous fifteen minutes.

"_Still nothing…Jeez, why can't I think of a reason? For crying out loud, I'm Robin! The Boy Wonder! There's gotta be like…a gazillion girls just waiting to kiss me and when one actually does, she freaks out? There's gotta be something I did wrong, yeah! Of course there is Robin! But what is it?_" He slammed his head against the fiberglass canopy and screamed "But what?!"

The steel door slip open and Beast Boy peeked in, Raven lied in bed, sleeping again, on the background, the Armageddon theme song was still playing, and the boy understood that it was set to repeat itself.

"_Look at her lying there…the Teen Titans' sleeping beauty, I wonder what she wanted to tell me_" he thought "_maybe there's a way to find out_" he searched the room until, under a small pile of magazines which were previously lain on the bed, he found it, the meditation mirror.

"I sure hopes this works…Azerath, Metrion Zynthos!"

The red vortex appeared, sucking the changeling in. the rings of red energy which used as a passageway to the mind of the half demon, also known as Nevermore, burned his flesh, it hurt him, but he didn't care, his mind was clear of thoughts and the only thing set in there was one word

"Truth"

"It won't be easy finding her, but I will do it" he said to himself as he ran across the long line of rocks, the red orbs of light hovering overhead didn't emit any heat, even though the light they provided was more than sufficient for the boy to see the path ahead, he was freezing. On his way, he encountered 4 emotions, Happy was playing hop-scotch and when she saw him, she squealed "It's him!" giggled and vanished into the ground, Timid didn't even say a word, she simply disappeared the way she came, Anger, who was busy throwing tiny rocks from one end of the path to the other, constantly swearing and saying "I'll get out of here sooner or later", kicked his stomach, punched him twice and walked away mumbling something about "Even I was offended by that…you pig!"

Beast Boy barely got up on his feet, sighed and started walking it off when he encountered a new emotion, one who was wearing an orange cloak, he approached the new Raven, which in response yawned and scratched the back of her head

"Who the heck are you?" they both asked

"I asked you first" said Beast Boy

"Nuh-uh, I did" replied the tired looking Raven

"Did not"

"Did to"

"Did not"

"Did to!"

"Did not!"

"Did to!"

"Fine!" she muttered "I'm Tiredness, now who are you?"

"Beast Boy"

"Beast Boy huh?" she said while taking a stroll around him "Yeah, Happy was right…you are kinda cute, but what you did was wrong"

"What did I do?" pretended the changeling

"Don't play dumb ball with me" hissed Tiredness "We all know what you did"

"You…" he gulped "You do?"

"…Fuel low, warning: fuel low, warning: fuel low…" repeated the computer's voice, waking Robin from his nap

"Might as well head home for a refuel" he muttered and kicked in the afterburners, sprinting towards the titans' tower. The large hanger door opened automatically and the red aircraft came in, slowing down to a steady hover, the canopy opened and The Boy Wonder stepped out, soaked from sweat and walked out of the hanger.

"_This situation stinks…there's gotta be a way for me figure out what to do, a cold shower would do the trick_"

Robin entered the shower and shut the door behind him, but in his haste, he left the "Do not enter, radioactive materials present" sign next to the little sink and the door unlocked. Ten minutes later, while he was still in, preparing to leave the shower, an orange hand reached for the door knob and twisted it.

"What do you mean 'she knows'?" asked the shocked shape shifter

"What do you think I mean?" Spit Tiredness "She Knows" a yawn slipped out of her mouth

"B…But how?" the shape shifter sounded absolutely terrified

"C'mon BB, all girl have their little secrets, thing is, Raven got a truckload of them" replied Tiredness, she looked just plain bored out of this conversation

"Hey, girls aren't the only ones with secrets" came a distorted voice, obviously computer generated. Beast Boy looked at the figure coming down from an overhead boulder with absolute shock

"WH…What on earth are you doing here?"

The figure landed into a crouch, rising, it dusted its black costume and then looked up to Beast Boy, still staring wide eyed at it

"Wussa matter kid? Never seen a thief before?"

"Red…X? What are you doing here?!" asked Beast Boy, trying to narrow his eyes, without success

Red-X looked down on himself and chuckled "Oh, so this is what I turned into this time? That suits Raven, pin me up as a bad guy" he grabbed hold of his suit and started pulling, a loud explosion covered him and when the bright red flash disappeared, Beast Boy stood facing Blackfire

"Better?" she asked

"N…No, Blackfire was also a criminal" replied the changeling

"Picky, aren't we?" she muttered and vanished into a purple blast, the smoke cleared out and Beast Boy was in front of the green oozing monster from the "Wicked Scary" movie

"Change! Change! Change!" he screamed, the monster vanished into a green explosion and Beast Boy was now facing himself

"Dude! You're me!" he cheered

"No…I just look like you, see, I'm an emotion to" said the opposing Beast Boy

"Really? Which one?" asked the changeling

"Random memory" explained the strange emotion "Hey Tiredness, we need uh…" he turned to see the orange cloaked figure on the rocky ground, sleeping "Ah forget it" he muttered "Let's go for a little stroll, shall we?" he suggested. Beast Boy nodded and they both started walking towards the endless rocky paths of Nevermore.

"_…Word up, up, everybody say_

_When you hear them call you, gotta get it on the way_

_Word up, up, it's the code word_

_No matter where you say it, you know that you'll be heard_" sang Robin, he was holding the soap bar like a microphone and was screaming into it. "Okay, shower time is over, time to get out and head for another training session" he said to himself. He pushed to curtain aside, just to face two investigating Emerald orbs, staring at his naked body with astonishment

"Holy crap!" he exclaimed and put his hands to his mouth, seeing that Starfire was still smiling and blushing, he realized his mistake and used both his hands to cover his crutch

"What are you doing here Star?!" roared Robin while trying to hide his body using the shower curtain

"Excuse me friend Robin, but I also wished to enter the fountain of cold and hot water and seeing that no one has placed the sign which bans us from entering I thought it was vacant" Explained the Tamaranian. It was then when Robin's shock sat down and he understood Starfire was also naked.

"Jeez, Star! Put something on for pit's sake! And throw me a towel while you're at it" He caught the white towel with his hand and ran across the room as fast as he could and just before reaching the exit, he turned his head and said

"And just for you to know, I was taking a cold shower, a REALLY cold one!" he shut the door behind him and raced towards the training room, wearing only a towel, his costume at hand.

"Okay, okay… let me see if I got it straight, Raven has astral projection powers, which means she can see things even if she's not there right? And she saw me hiding in the closet and seeing her naked right? Well if she did, why didn't she kill me?" asked the confused changeling. In response, the opposing Beast Boy smacked his head "Are you that stupid? She loves you, you idiot! God! I can't believe you didn't see it straight forward!" yelled the emotion

"Dude, I didn't even know Raven could love!" shouted Beast Boy

"Of course she can! Everyone can love, it's just a bit harder for Raven!"

"Alright! Well, what should I do?"

The emotion grabbed his own green hair in frustration "Ask her out, tell her something, tell her you love her to, help her in this time of need"

"Fine!" he muttered "now how do I get outta here?"

"With grace, softness…" he walked behind the changeling "And a butt load of foot!" the emotion kicked Beast Boy's rear, sending him towards the dark skies which turned into another red vortex "Oh man…" shouted the shape shifter "Not AGAIIIIIIIIIIN!!!!!"

The meditation mirror started bouncing from side to side, the glass' surface turning red, spewing Beast Boy out, and right into Raven's glare

"H…Hi Rae" said the boy, wiggling his fingers

"What did they tell you?" she asked dryly

"More than I should've known" he replied

"Good" she spat "Now strip"

"Pardon?"

"Are you familiar with 'an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth'? Well, it goes for a strip for a strip too. Now do it"

"There's no way I'll-"

"You have to choices, either you do it, or I'll do it for you" she hissed, her eyes turned white and the boy could feel his costume loosing up

"Hold it! Hold it!" he screamed, waving his hands "I can get naked for myself, thank you!" he turned around and stayed in his boxer shorts "Happy now?" he said shivering. In response, Raven shook her head no "The boxers too, I didn't have those"

The underwear were thrown aside, Raven's eyes widened and her face was covered with red hot blush

"Do you want me to do a little dance too?" he squinted

"I've seen more than enough, put 'em back on" she replied. The boy got dressed and hopped next to her, putting his left arm around her waist, pulling himself closer to her. "Tell me a story" he said in a babyish voice

"Fine, this is the story of Dante's Infer-" he pulled her face closer to his and kissed her, at first, Raven tried to pull back, but seconds after, they both had their arms wrapped around each other, kissing passionately. Raven used her powers and the light dimmer turned, making the room darker and darker until it reached complete darkness.

"I love you" he whispered

"I love you too" she replied as they both cuddled next to each other in the darkness

Author notes:

This is PG-13, no birds and bees stuff here! I'm thinking about putting another chapter, or a couple, maybe more. Review and let me know!

Until next time, this is RavenOnline saying:

Wait! Those are my waffles! Beast BOY!


	4. A Blast From The Past

Been checking up on my reviews and you're right folks, there isn't enough Cy screen time. Sorry big guy! (Cyborg chases me around the room with a frying pan). Just to calm you down, it's not that I hate him or something, it's just that there are only two characters Cy can fall in love with: Bumblebee and Jinx and since they are both in the third season, which I haven't watched yet, I don't know the way they act. I'll make a new char for ol' metal skin. Don't worry Cy, you will not be neglected!

Disclaimer: Oh man, do I really have to write one? I'm too tired now, just make up something funny about me not owning the Teen Titans okay? Oh and I do own Demo-Lisa!

Chapter Four: A Blast From The Past

Another twist of the wrench, and another, and another "_That's it, it's locked in nice and tight, now for the windows_" thought the mechanical man, he took a yellow cloth and sprayed the T-car's windows with cleaning fluid, wiping it off seconds later.

"_Why am I doing this? I know that my baby is in tip-top shape. Maybe I should stop and do something else_" he walked around the white and blue car, making sure everything is okay

"_Maybe I need a tune-up_" he thought and pressed some buttons on his arm

"All systems at 100 activity dawg" announced a computerized voice.

"Great" he sighed and sat down on an empty crate. A few minutes later he jumped up as if he has been electrocuted and with a smile turned on his communicator

"Yo B, whacha doing? Need help with something?" no response "B you there?" no response, the video screen shows black "B come in!" a pale hand reached for the round object and then Cyborg's screen turned static

"_Funny, I don't remember BB being so…pale? Wait a sec, pale means Raven, what on earth is Raven doing with BB's…The little devil_" he smirked "Guess that rules out BB and Rae, might as well try Robin and Star" he thought aloud

"Robin, YO Robin, come in!" he screamed at his arm, in response his video screen showed a part of Starfire's boot and he apparently heard a part of a conversation

"…But what were your motives for singing the song of the up of a word by the band of corn while bathing?"(A/N: it sounds the same)

"I don't know Starfire; it's just something I like to do when I take a shower, I don't need a motive to do it, and besides, how did you recognize the song? I thought you dislike earth music"

"I do, but while jogging with friend Raven the day before yesterday, she played that song numerous times, she appears to be very fond of it. And tell me friend Robin, are you in the line of health?"

"Of course I am Star, why are you asking?"

"I am curious because when I observed your bodily proportions, your Zingelforg seemed a tad shorter than the average length of a Zingelforg for a man at your age"

There was silence for a few moments in which Cyborg tried to understand what the young Tamaranian was talking about

"I was cold Starfire! On earth those kind of things tend to shrink when exposed to cold! And besides, it's not the size that matters, it how you…" the video screen was now viewing Robin's angry face "Do you mind?! I'm trying to run a conversation here!" he screamed, the video screen went static.

"Great" he sighed "Just great, now what am I supposed to do?" he searched the room and then it hit him "Duh!" he said while smacking his forehead "Time to go cruising!"

-

"So…whacha wonna do now?" asked Beast Boy, his eyes fixed on Raven, who was sitting in front of him, his arm around her waist

"Mmm…I don't know…maybe go up to the roof or something?" replied Raven

"As you wish" he replied. Both of them got out of the bed and started walking towards the roof-exit. The small black door opened, flushing their eyes with the vision of the sun high up in the blue skies, their ears with sounds of waves, crashing against the rocks and the sound of seagulls squawking and their noses with the smell of the sea.

"Wow…it beautiful up here Rae" said the changeling

"I know, I like to come up here a lot when I want to meditate" she replied

"Okay, so now wha-?" Raven pulled his arm and dragged him towards the ledge, forcing him to sit down; she sat as well, next to him

"Wh-" she put a finger to his lips "Just look and listen" she whispered. There was silence in which both the shape shifter and the demon girl just looked at the horizon, fascinated by the vision lying ahead. Beast Boy looked aside, at Raven, she just sat there, looking at the sea, her face had a calm expression on it, but not a cold calmness, it was a warm, deep calmness, derived from happiness. Her purple hair blew in the gentle breeze, blowing her smell into the boy's clogged nose; nevertheless, he could smell it, the smell of jasmine. Raven stretched her body and lied on the hard concrete roof, Beast Boy did the same

"Dreams" he said

"Huh?" she replied

"Dreams, do you have them?" he asked

"No"

"Why?"

"Because all I have is nightmares, night in and night out" she said in a somewhat soft somewhat sad tone

"What are they about?" an expression of a worried man, afraid for the sake of his loved one was on his face

"It's complicated; I don't think I can explain them"

"Oh" said the boy and lowered his head "It's about that red guy right?" he shot blindly

"What red guy?" Raven didn't understand at the first moment, but seconds later, his words began to sink in

"Ya'know, the guy you me and Cy fought in your head, what was his name?" he snapped his fingers several times, trying to remember

"Trigon" she replied coldly "My father"

"Yeah, are they about him?"

"Yes, they are"

"I don't get it! You beat that guy right? I mean, he turned into that red you and-"

"Hatred" she interrupted him

"What?"

"Hatred, the red four eyed me is Hatred"

"Oh, anyway, you beat him, then why do you keep having nightmares?"

"For the same reason Robin keeps on training in his anti-Slade simulator, the same reason Starfire always asks the Centaury prison wardens about Blackfire. We're afraid that they'll come back"

"Hey, no matter if that Trigon guy comes back, I'll be there to help you whoop his butt back to wherever he came from" he pecked her cheek and placed his arm over her shoulder

"Let's go inside" she said "I'm getting cold"

-

The T-car rode smoothly on the roads of Jump City, inside it, Cyborg just kept his eyes on the road, a gloomy expression on his face. He was lost in his thoughts when an irritating "Beep" sound shot him back to reality, on his dashboard, a red indicator noted him that it was raining

"Raining?" he asked aloud "But a second ago it was-" he looked out of the window and noticed the grey skies, shelling the streets, people, buildings and cars of Jump City with drops of water.

"That is so not good for my baby, I just cleaned her!" he shouted at the windshield. His eyes shifted from the road to a nearby bus station, where a lone girl stood in the rain, which by now turned into a real storm in just a few seconds. The car drove to halt in front of her, the window was lowered and Cyborg's head peered out

"Need a ride?" he asked in the sweetest tone his vocal cords managed to generate. The girl hesitated for a second and seemed a little intimidated by his offer

"Oh c'mon, I'm a Teen Titan! Its not like I'm a mad kidnapping monster!" he said. The girl drew a half-smile and walked towards his car, the left door opened and she got in

"Where're ya headin' sugar?" she asked while sitting in her chair

"Wherever you want, I've been driving circles for over half an hour so going to a particular place would do me real good about now"

"Can ya drop me at the bank, there's a slight financial matter I need to take care of" she explained

"Sure, but first, buckle up and by the way, what's your name?" asked the mechanical teen

"Lis…I mean, Amanda" the girl lowered her head

"Alright then Amanda, to the bank, full steam ahead!" he said and stepped on the small gas pedal, the car jumped forward and kept on at a steady speed. The bank was a little far away, so while driving, Cyborg looked at the girl sitting next to him, she was an African-American, about 20 was his guess, long silky brown hair slid on her shoulders, she had lips full, a little nose and black sunglasses which covered her eyes. Cyborg looked at the girl's clothing, a long, reflective black jacket covered her body and to her legs, two knee-high black boots. The girl looked somewhat disturbed and looked out of the window with a thoughtful expression.

"Here we are" he said, waking the girl from her trance

"Thanks "she mumbled and left the car in a haste. Cyborg sighed at his misfortune and was about to drive away when the sound of a gunshot went through his ears

"Amanda!" screamed a voice in his head; he left the car and burst through the automatic glass doors. Inside, were six men, armed with small submachine-guns, they all wore black clothes and had sock-hats for masks. One of them stood facing Cyborg, the barrel of his gun still smoking and in front of him stood Amanda, both her hands grabbing her stomach and an expression of sheer shock and pain on her face

"Amanda! No!" he screamed and ran towards her, but to his surprise, she raised again, standing tall

"That. Was. My. Best. Jacket!" she exclaimed and threw the garment aside, the look that was revealed to Cyborg's eyes made him almost faint, black metal covered the girl's stomach and chest, her forearms also replaced with it, from her waist down she was completely metallic, the black color of the metal was reflecting the light from the bulbs above and it gave her a silvery look. The robber stood there in absolute shock for a few moments and was taken by his instincts, he pointed his weapon at her and opened fire, the submachine-gun roared as fire and hot led were spewed from its barrel, ricocheting off the girl's chest "_Click, click_" the man looked at the small weapon with confusion

"Out of ammo sugar? Well here, I'll lend you some" she said with a grin, two small slots opened, one at her left forearm and one at her right, five small black pieces were held out by five small robotic arms and were assembled into two MP-5 machine guns at her opened hands, she took aim and fired, blasting the robber to the back of the counter with one blast of ammunition. The remaining five took cover behind the same counter and opened fire at her, their guns rattling with every single bullet shot out. Amanda stepped back and the robotic arms were again visible, disassembling the guns and retracting the parts to her forearms. Another slot in her right thigh slid open, revealing a large six-shooter like gun; she took it out and aimed

"A little C4, knocking at your door" she said before pulling the trigger, a single projectile was shot out and exploded behind the counter, the robbers screamed and then, silence.

"Amanda? Is…is that you?" asked Cyborg while walking up to her

"Name's not Amanda sugar, it's Demo-Lisa"

"Lisa? As in, Lisa Valentine?"

"The very one"

Cyborg stood still for a few moments, staring at space, he remembered Lisa Valentine, he remembered her well. Two years ago, when he, Victor Stone, not Cyborg, not yet, had the accident, he was hospitalized considered dead, irreversible damage has been caused to his body, but his brain was still intact so his father, the famous Doctor Arthur Stone, decided to try out an experimental procedure on his own son, replacing 89 percent of his body with cybernetic implants, thus creating Cyborg, the half man-half machine. But Cyborg wasn't the only one who had undergone that surgery, another subject was tested, but not for medical issues, that subject, Lisa Valentine was for strict military interest. Lisa Valentine was a Navy SEAL, one of the best there were. She volunteered to have parts of her body replaced with cybernetic weapon systems, creating the perfect soldier. She and Cyborg were friends; they shared the same phantom pains of the body, trying to adjust to having only half of its former self, during the rehabilitation time, he and Lisa got bonded, not romantically, but as friends, best friends.

"But…I thought you were at the SEALs, in some top notch mission or something"

"Nah, they broke off the unit, it was too expensive for their taste to keep me with my own squad, so I had two options: turn to scrap metal or turn into a desk jockey, I picked the third option and hi-tailed outta there"

"And what are you doing these days?"

"Keepin' it real Vic, keepin' it real"

"And where do you live?"

"Near the power plant, I just need a jolt once in a while to recharge my system and I'm A OK"

A spark lit up in Cyborg's eyes

"Why won't you come to live with us? At Titans tower?"

"I don't know, I mean, I'm not a TEEN after all. What if your friends won't let me in?"

"Trust me, they will, so will you come? Please, please, please, please, please…"

"Alright, I will, but not because I want to, it's because I can't stand seeing a grown man cry"

"R…ight, let's go!"

The two walked calmly out of the bank and started driving towards Titans tower. A few minutes later, two police squad cars arrived at the scene and the policemen started investigating the citizens present.

Author notes:

Thanks for opening my eyes for the lack of Cy in this story, I really needed it. Ol' Cyborg got a whole lot of screen time in this story and so did Beast Boy and Raven

Starfire: But what about me and my entangled relationship with friend Robin? we got several lines in this chapter whereas friends Cyborg, Beast Boy and Raven held most of the story, do you not like me and Robin friend RavenOnline? (sniffles)

Robin: Great, you made her cry! (extends Bo-staff and leaps ahead)

Me: SECURITY!

(Red-X and the care-bears arrive, dragging Robin and Starfire away)

Red-X: You won't have to worry about these two anymore

Me: thanks Red, I owe you one

Red-X: really? Can you get me in your next chapter?

Me: Sure, but you'll have to share with Robin, Starfire, Cyborg and Lisa

Red-X: 'Kay, laters! (Teleports away)

Buh-Bye dudes!

Until the next chappie


	5. Crossing the Line

Hello kids, been readin' your reviews on RavenOnline's story (Little boy: but I thought you are RavenOnline!) oh, silly me, I forgot to introduce myself, Red-X here and I'll be writing this chapter seeing that our dear RavenOnline is a little…preoccupied (Red-X looks back and sees RavenOnline struggling with his restrains) anyway, I've been thinking about changing the story's name to Red-X: The Musical (hears a snapping voice and looks back, the red restrains are torn on the floor) oh crap…I'll be…off now  
(gets hit in the head with a frying pan)

RavenOnline here, bringing you the next chapter of Tales of the Closet

Disclaimer: Yeah right, like I'll own the Teen Titans….dream on dudes

Chapter 5: Crossing the Line

"_There is good and there's evil. There are those who commit crimes, and those who stop them. The two sides are opposite, as different as day and night. And the line between them is clear. Or at least, it's supposed to be_"- Robin, "X"

"_But what if someone crossed that line, in the name of a worthy cause, let's say…love?_" - Unknown

Starfire flew over and under the black steel beams, launching a barrage of starbolts at her target, an illusive criminal who kept dodging each and every one of her attacks by jumping, ducking and performing impressive acrobatic moves, the criminal vanished into a black shimmer and Starfire could feel two feet landing on her bottom. She turned around with rage and resumed her pursuit of the criminal who was now leaping from beam to beam, his black cape flapping behind him, Starfire flew at top speed after the criminal and suddenly she noticed he was no longer in front of her. She heard the sound of a sharp object, cutting through the air and turned around, only to be pinned against the wall by a large red X. the criminal landed in front of her and raised her face to watch his

"You know cutie" he said "The only crime here is that you and I haven't gone out on a-" he was blasted by two beams of green energy that emerged from the young Tamaranian's eyes. The event rolls back and starts again; the picture is now viewing only Starfire and the criminal's face

"You know cutie, the only crime here is that you and I haven't gone out on a-" again, the event rewinds

"You know cutie, the only crime here is that you and I haven't gone out on a-" the screen went black and a dark figure rose from its seat

"I WILL have her" said the figure with determination and left the black room.

-

"Here we are, Titans Tower" said Cyborg, he opened the car door and walked towards Lisa's side of the car, intending to open the door for her

"Trust me sugar, I can take care of myself" she said while stepping out of the car

"Well let's go inside, I'm telling you Lis, they'll be surprised"

"I just hope they won't be too surprised" Lisa's voice had a bit of fear in it

"Don't be silly, they'll love you"

"I sure hope so sugar, I sure hope so"

Cyborg stepped into the living room, Lisa following close by

"Anybody home?" he cried, no response "B? Robin? Star? Anyone?" still nothing

Cyborg shrugged "Guess none's home, c'mon Lis, let's fix you something to eat"

Lisa followed Cyborg into the kitchen and started sorting through the numerous cabinets, searching for something _Fresh _to eat, her search lasted about a minute, she opened one door and looked inside

"Wha…"

"…Hoo!!!" screamed Starfire, she was sitting in the back seat of the R-Jet, which was now traveling at high speed through the rainy skies of Jump City, cutting through the rain drops on its path

"This is most enjoyable friend Robin! But tell me, are we able to go any faster?" she asked with excitement

"Let's just put it like this…" said the Boy Wonder with a grin. He pushed the small throttle up, making the aircraft speed even further

"I enjoy traveling in these high speeds friend Robin; may I express my excitement with an earthly expression that I have recently heard?"

"Of course you can Star"

"YEEEEEEEEEEEHAWWWWW!!!!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, making Robin burst into a wave of friendly laughter

"If you 'Yee-haw'ed about that, you're gonna love this one" he flipped a small black covering, underneath it was a green button, Robin pressed his finger against it and the R-Jet screamed into supersonic speeds, leaving the young Tamaranian gasping with excitement, smiling from ear to ear. Robin turned his head back and looked at her smile; he couldn't help noticing the warm build-up inside him

"Hey Star?"

"Yes Robin?"

"Want to take it for a spin?"

"What is this spin you refer to?"

"Do you want to fly it?"

"I most certainly do, but I do not know how"

"See that little stick in front of you?"

"Yes"

"If you pull, you go up, if you push, you go down, left is left and right is right, get it?"

"I think so, may I try?"

"Go for it"

Starfire grabbed the stick with extreme delicacy and slightly pulled it towards her, as if she was afraid it will hurt her, the aircraft slightly rose, making her squeal and drop the stick

"Don't worry, it won't bite" said Robin, trying to calm her down "C'mon Star, give it a good pull"

"I shall try Robin" she said and pulled the stick towards her, the jet blasted up towards the heavens and Starfire seemed to be getting the hang of it, she now had both her hands around the stick and was smiling widely

"May I proceed Robin?"

"Sure you can"

She pulled the stick and tilted it right, forcing the R-Jet to make a wide diagonal flip

"That was what you call 'loop-the-loop' correct?"

"A bit rough around the edges, but yeah, how did you know?"

"I heard Beast Boy and Cyborg talking about it while playing a game of air combat with their computers"

"How about I let you fly us home Star?"

"Oh can I? Thank you most kind friend of mine!" the jet took a wide left turn and began streaking towards the Titans Tower.

-

**Jump City's J.C.P.D warehouse**

The small back door knob started twisting and turning, about five minutes later, it opened, a dark figure snuck in, its cape trailing behind it, a small steel red X was left at the outside keyhole

"I seriously need to brush off my lock picking skills" muttered the figure to itself as it walked through the long isle of shelves, sorted by alphabetical order

"Let's see here…Racer-D, no, Radioactive Death, no, Rambler, no, Rampaging Danger, no, R&B Man? You've gotta be kidding me. Ah, here we go"

The figure reached to a shelf and pulled out a box, it took out a strange looking belt and placed it around its waist

"Now things get interesting" said the character and vanished into a black shimmer. The box, which was still placed on the floor, had four large black letters on it

RED-X

-

"That was so much fun friend; will we be able to ever repeat that wondrous experience?" asked Starfire while stepping out of the R-Jet

"Of course we will Star, I just to rest a little and-" he was interrupted by a ringing sound. Robin reached to his pocked and took out his communicator, placing it to his ear

"Hello. Yes chief Cosgrove, it's me, what's wrong? Someone broke into where? What kind of a stupid, moronic idiot will…forget it, what did they take?" his eyes widened with sheer horror "I…I see chief. Yes, we'll take care of it. Bye" he closed the communicator and started walking slowly towards the hanger's exit, his fists clenched

"What is wrong Robin? What did the chief of police say?"

"It's him Starfire, he's back" he said with a heavy tone

"Who is Robin?" she asked with worry in her eyes. Robin gulped a huge wad of spit, beads of sweat on his forehead

"Red-X, he's back Star, he stole his belt from the police confiscated weapons warehouse fifteen minutes ago"

-

"Hey Rae, you hungry?" asked Beast Boy; they were once again in Raven's room and he was dangling upside-down from a chin-ups bar, mounted right next to the door. Raven was again in bed, covered with her purple blanket, sipping on a cup of tea

"Not really" she replied "Why, are you?"

"Kinda" he said while swinging back and forth "Why do you keep this thing in here anyway?"

"Huh?"

"The chin-ups thingy, why do you keep it around here?

"What does it look like? For chin-ups"

"So you can actually do them?"

"Of course I can!"

"Prove it"

"Pardon?"

"C'mon, I dare you to do…let's see…ten chin-ups!"

"Are you nuts? I'm sick!"

"Wussa matter? Chicken?"

"Beast Boy…I am SICK and besides, who said you can do it?"

"Why should I do it?" he said defensively "I dared you!"

"Because, if you dared me than that means you're also able to do it"

The boy giggled and scratched the back of his head "So…are you hungry?"

"Not any hungrier than two seconds ago, when you asked me the LAST time" she said coldly and narrowed her eyes

"Simple answer, Da or no?" he asked in a halfwit Russian accent, making Raven giggle.

"Come to think of it, those last two seconds did make me a little hungry, but aren't we supposed to stay in quarantine until this flu thing wears off?"

"Like I care, when Beast Boy's hungry, Beast Boy eats! And as for now, Beast Boy is VERY hungry!" he grabbed hold of his stomach and a painful expression appeared on his face

"Very, VERY hungry"

"Okay" she replied with a giggling voice "let's go and eat something"

"No, no, no, no, you stay here; I'll get you something to eat"

Beast Boy started creeping slowly out of Raven's room, walking heel by thumb (A/N: a very useful covert operations tracking method, trust me) towards the kitchen. It was about halfway when he remembered he could take the form of animals and morphed into a small ladybug, crawling towards the corridor's end. When he reached the end, he bumped into something

"_Oh yeah…the plastic barricade_" he thought, a second later a green cat slipped through the thick plastic layers and onto the living room. Beast Boy regained his human form and walked towards the kitchen. When he got there, he saw a figure raiding their fridge

"Hey you!" he cried, the figure turned around

"C…C…Cyborg? Dude, what happened to you?" he asked the figure standing near the fridge

"What is wrong with me?" asked Cyborg's head, popping from behind two boxes of hamburgers

"There are…" Beast Boy pointed at the figure standing near the fridge, his finger turned towards Cyborg, back to the fridge and he fainted

"Told ya it'll be a bad idea bringing me here" said Lisa. Beast Boy woke up and looked at her

"Two of you…" he said and once again fainted

-

"So, you're really love her eh Mr. X?"

"For the umpteenth time Slade, yes, I do"

"And you're willing to do anything for me so I'll kidnap her and bring her to you?"

A red X shaped throwing star appeared in Red-X's hand, he threw it towards a target with Robin's picture on it, the X jabbed itself into the picture's left eye and detonated

"Anything" he said to himself

Author Notes:

OOOOH…tensions are high aren't they? Will Red-X get his hands on Starfire? Will the Teen Titans accept Lisa? Will Beast Boy ever stop fainting? Will I ever stop writing stupid question even when I know no one will answer?

All the answers to these questions (well…save the last one) and more in the next chapter of Tales of the Closet: (Insert cool and catchy name here)

Wonna get a sneak preview of the next chapter? Or maybe you would like the surveillance tape from Raven's shower? (Drives crazy prevs away with a ten foot pole) well if you do, just press the "Submit Review" button below and write your opinion and request. Your order will reach you in three to seven days.

Until next time, this is RavenOnline saying

FREE PIZZA FOR THE MASSES!!! CHARRRRRGE!!!!!!!!!!!


	6. This Is Only A Test

Just for the record CrazyDeafGirl, I haven't seen "Bethroned", I haven't seen any episode of the third season, save "X"

Next chapter will begin by me, replying to your reviews, so review, review review!

Disclaimer: I never have and never will own the Teen Titans! Quit asking me if I do or do not!

Chapter six: "This Is Only A Test"

--INTIALIZING TRAINING SIMULATOR, PLEASE INSERT YOUR NAME—

--WELCOME ROBIN, PLEASE SELECT YOUR OPPONENT…--

--LOADING RED-X, PLEASE WAIT…--

--RED X LOADED, PLEASE SELECT DIFFICULTY—

EASY(1)

MEDIUM(2)

HARD(3)

BRUTAL(4)

CHARECTERISTIC(5)

--PLEASE SELECT ARENA--

--LOADING TITANS TOWER, PLEASE STAND BY…--

--ENABLE AUDIO TAUNTS (Y/N)?--

--ENABLE VISUAL TAUNTS (Y/N)?--

--COMMENCING SIMULATION--

A blinding white flash forced Robin to close his eyes "_I hate this part_" he thought. When he opened then, he stood in the center corridor of Titans Tower, but it wasn't as usual, fires broke at random locations and parts of the walls have been shattered to debris on the burnt red carpet. Electric wires were dangling from the ceiling, giving occasional electric surges that caused sparks to fly towards all directions. Robin kept walking, ducking under fallen beams and ventilation pipes. On his way he met Raven, she was lying on the ground, cape and hood torn, and many X shaped bruises on her arms and face, her right arm was broken and she groaned in pain

"He was in my room" she whispered so silently that Robin could barely hear "No one goes in my room" she gave one last cough and tilted her head aside, finally giving in to her pains, she fainted. Robin kept marching towards the exit and got to the living room, where he saw Beast Boy, on his knees, gasping for air and in front of him, Red-X stood, his hands on his waist in a mocking position

"What? Is that all you got BB? I expected more of you" he taunted

"Don't…you…call…me…BB!" he got up, his limbs dangling like a puppet's and charged, morphing into a rhino. Red-X leaped aside and fired off a series of X's, they all hit the rhino's broad side, delivering a massive electric current. Beast Boy turned human again, and fainted.

"Four down, one to go" hissed Red-X and charged at Robin, who in response leaped into the air, twisting into a powerful roundhouse kick that hit the black remains of Red-X's teleported figure, Robin landed, barely avoiding a punch to the back of his head and delivered a low sweep kick that swiped Red-X off his feet. The criminal flipped to his hands and used them to jump high into the air, coming down with a tremendous dive kick. Robin caught Red-X's leg with both his hands and sent him flying towards the big screen T.V with a powerful push, Red-X teleported again and Robin felt the painful imprint of Red-X's right leg on his back. He rolled into a cartwheel, throwing two flash-bangs at the surprised Red-X, the explosion blinded Red-X and he regained his sight just in time to see Robin's legs crash into his face, blasting him towards the door

"Not Bad kid, not bad" teased the vigilante and threw a barrage of razor sharp X's at Robin, who extended his Bo-staff and knocked each and every one of them out of their course, when he hit the last one, a loud explosion sent him crashing at the large table which broke down, sending small shards of glass into The Boy Wonder's back. Under his mask, Red-X smirked and prepared to send another series of attack at Robin

"_Armed, Beep, Beep, Beep_" said a voice under Red-X's feet, he looked down and his eyes widened with painful understanding. He stood on one of Robin's mine-discs

"Great" he muttered before the entire floor was consumed by the sudden burst of fire, sending it crashing to the floor below. Red-X got up and dusted himself from the debris when a powerful kick was sent towards his ribs. The steel tip of Robin's shoe crashed through the criminal's ribs, sending him spinning towards one of the generators, knocking his head on one of them. Robin charged into a pounce and slammed his Bo-staff against the cold structure of the generator. He heard the sound of a soft landing behind him and turned around

"C'mon kid, X marks the spot" said Red-X while pointing at his chest. Without hesitation, Robin charged ahead, his Bo-staff ready for battle and with a battle cry, leaped towards the criminal. Red-X teleported and sent a volley of explosive X's at Robin, who used his staff as a jumping pole and leaped above the lethal salvo, pouncing at Red-X with a powerful kick to the chest

"There, I hit it, now what do I get?" mocked Robin

"A face load of these!" Red-X threw an endless stream of punches towards Robin's face, which Robin swiftly blocked with his hands. The Boy wonder reached to his utility belt and with a single move, blocked one of Red-X's punches with a blue disc, turning his hand into solid ice and breaking it with a punch of his own. Red-X gave a scream riddled with pain collapsed to his knees

"Better not mess with us again, or you'll lose your other han-" A sharp pain went through Robin's neck, disabling him from talking. Robin's fingers reached and felt the foreign object jabbed into his throat, an X shaped object. The Boy Wonder collapsed to the floor and in his last seconds alive, he saw Red-X barely managing to get on his feet, giving Robin's lifeless body a sharp salute with his other hand, the one which is still there, and teleporting away.

--SIMULATION TERMINATED, YOU HAVE LOST ROBIN—

"Tactical analysis" said the computer's voice "A great leader once said: Never ignore a wounded enemy, for the snake's head can strike even when detached from its body"

"Great" muttered the Boy Wonder as he left the training simulator "Just great"

Starfire's face dropped as soon as she saw Robin's expression when he left the training room

"I see your attempt to 'take down' the Red-X was in vain, correct?" she asked

"Worse, not only that I didn't take him down, he killed me" Robin's face sulked and he started pacing back to the training room

"Where are you going Robin? It is late and judging by the look of you, you require sleep"

"I'm going to get a cup of coffee and try again"

"But it is late and-"

"Go to bed Starfire, I'll go to sleep, after I'll beat him"

"But-"

"After I'll beat him"

Starfire admitted defeat and headed towards the living room

"Where are you going?"

"I am required to sleep in the living room due to friend Raven's illness, remember?"

"Oh, right" said The Boy Wonder, shutting the door behind him

-

Beast Boy's eyes opened, he looked up and saw Lisa's arm, held towards him. To her left stood Cyborg, his arms crossed across his chest. The shape shifter grabbed her hand and she pulled him up. Standing on his feet, Beast Boy inspected Lisa, top to bottom

"So…you're like, a chick version of Cy right?" he asked with curiosity

"I guess I am sugar" she answered "And you would be…"

"Beast Boy" he answered, sticking out his chest, smiling cockily

"Right…" she replied "Anyway, I'll take that you're the jokester around here right?"

"As truly as true can get"

"Lisa Valentine, pleased to meet you" she shook Beast Boy's hand, and as soon as their hands came in contact, Beast Boy flew a great distance back. Lisa giggled and pointed at her palm, from which electrical surges were still being emitted, giving in a glowing blue color. Beast Boy got up and shook his head, trying to make those blue spots to disappear from his eyes

"That was cunning, underhanded, sneaky and all around mean, you have a great future with us here, especially at breakfast" he said and padded Lisa's back. In response, she giggled, revealing two rows of pearly white teeth

"Don't be so sure sugar, I mean, Robin still haven't allowed me to crash in here"

"You're worried about Robin? He's the least of your concerns. If anything, it's Raven you should be worried about; she has a little problem with outsiders, seeing the last one was…" he lowered his head and Cyborg put his hand on the changeling's shoulder

"You're still not over her huh man?"

"Guess not, I mean, I stopped having those nightmares and I, I mean I don't cry at nights anymore but…I dunno man, I really cared about her ya'know?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean B, that Terra girl fooled all of us"

"But I…ah drop it" Beast Boy waved the topic off with hand. They heard a loud brushing noise and turned towards the living room, where they saw Starfire dragging a huge pink bag. She realized they were looking at her and dropped the sack.

"Uh…Star?" asked Cyborg while pointing at the sack

"Friends, these are a few of my fuzzy bears that dwell in my room. I have been able to salvage them prior to friend Robin's quarantine"

"A few huh?" asked Lisa while stepping towards Starfire, amazed by the size of the sack

"And who, if I may ask, are you?" asked the young Tamaranian with intrest

"She's Lisa Star, don't worry, she's okay" replied Cyborg

"Yeah, nice to mee-" Lisa was caught by Starfire's infamous bone crushing hug

"A new friend joins the team! Tell me friend Lisa, how old are you, where did you live, what's your favorite color, what's your favorite BlingBarg and do you want to become my friend?"

"No…oxygen…can't…breathe" was Lisa's reply. Starfire let go, allowing Lisa to take a breath "Uh…okay…let me see…twony-two (A/N: Twenty-two), near the old nuclear power station, black, what on earth is a BlingBarg and…sure, I'll be your friend, why not?"

"Splendid!" screamed Starfire and dragged Lisa towards the couch "Let us then sit on the sofa and watch the amazing performances of the actors who perform on the Television while I explain to you what a BlingBarg is"

"Told ya you'll fit in here perfectly" said Cyborg and as a reply, got a loud yawn from Beast Boy

"Dude, what time is it?" he asked, looking tired

"Um…eleven thirty" came the android's reply

"Well I'm turning in, night folks!" he said and walked back towards the quarantined corridor, sliding the large plastic layers as he walked between them.

"Yeah, that's a good idea B, guess I'll hit the hay about now too" said Cyborg, he started walking towards the garage when he suddenly stopped and turned around

"You sure you'll be okay here Lis?"

"Sure I will" she answered. In the background Starfire's voice said "A BlingBarg is a creature with skin as soft as the one covering the surface of your underarm friend Lisa, I shall see if it resembles yours" a second later, Lisa squealed "Starfire cut it out! That tickles!" Cyborg Smiled to himself and shut the door leading to the garage

**-**

**Outside Jump City's maximum security prison 11:36 P.M**

The prison compound was a large multi-storied building with barred windows and searchlights at every corner, about half a mile from the building, Red-X lied in a puddle of brown mud, using his cape to cover his suit from the rain and scouting on the prison using a large pair of binoculars. The rain splashed against his cape and lightning lit up the dark skies

"Do you understand your job Red-X?" crossed a voice through Red-X's left ear

"Of course I do" replied his mocking tone "But why do I have to free-"

"Don't ask any questions, just follow your orders!" roared Slade's voice

"Slade, you are taking this whole mission impossible thing WAY too seriously" replied Red-X's voice

"Do you want me to deliver my end of the deal or not?" said Slade, his words took immediate affect as Red-X was now silenced

"Five minutes is all I need, X out"

He teleported inside the prison's basement and made his way up. The only obstructions in his way were two guards, checking the condition of the prisoners before lights-out. He threw a smoke grenade towards them and the last memory they had of his attack was the whirling black of his cape, followed by a sharp pain to the head.

"Cell block A, cell number 1096" he said to himself as he walked past cells in which were cheering prisoners. The criminal placed an explosive charge on the cell's bars and took a few steps back; the charge went off, destroying the lock. Red-X walked in and was welcomed by Kitten and Fang's wondering stares

"Are you and spider-teen over here Kitten and Fang?" he asked, they both nodded "Well, gratz, you just received a get out of jail free card kids, enjoy your freedom" Red-X teleported away, leaving the two characters with each other's wondering stare and the sirens as company.

-

Lightning flashed in the rainy skies, flushing Raven's room with white light for a second, the thunder that followed snapped Raven from her sleep. She rose up, covered in cold sweat and scanned the room with her eyes, everything was in place and the room was dead silent, except Raven's heart, which was racing in her chest.

"_Another nightmare Raven, relax, it wasn't real_" she thought. The half-demon curled in her blanket and closed her eyes, trying to regain her sleeping condition. The moment her eyes closed she heard a strange noise, similar to the one two swords that crash against each other make and a voice whispered from the shadows "Raven". She woke up, fully alert now "Who's there?" she asked. "Raven" whispered the voice again, this time; Raven could tell where it was coming from, the closet. The half-demon walked slowly towards the closet. "Raven" it whispered again, this time a bit louder, she opened the doors and looked inside "What do you want?" she demanded

"Your life!" screamed the voice. Two boney green arms reached from within the closet and grabbed Raven's shoulders, pulling her in with a single swipe, the closet doors slammed shut and all that could be heard was Raven's terrified scream.

"No!" screamed Raven, she woke up soaked with cold sweat, her heart racing. She looked at her room, dead quiet, just like before, the rain drops tapping on her window.

"These nightmares are turning scarier from night to night" she whispered to herself, getting up from her bed, she felt the coldness of the floor and walked out of her room, heading towards the kitchen. Raven filled herself a glass of water and walked back to the corridor, not before turning off the T.V that sleeping Starfire and Lisa were watching, Raven took a few seconds looking at Lisa, examining her face "_Cyborg knew what he was doing when he brought her here_" she thought and resumed her course towards her room. While in the corridor, she noticed a light coming from one of the doors, Beast Boy's. Raven was about to enter her room when she looked again at the light from Beast Boy's room

"_I wonder if he'll be upset if I…oh get a grip Raven, you were just having a nightmare, than on the other hand, it'll be easier to sleep knowing he's…there_" Raven took one more look at her room and walked towards Beast Boy's room. Stepping in, she noticed the boy was already sleeping in his bottom bunk, one of the Game-Station's controllers was in his right hand which dangled freely from the bedside, he was lying on his back, his mouth open and his tongue outside. The sight of him made Raven draw a small smile, she climbed to the top bunk and phased down, lying next to him, already covered with the blanket

"Good night" she whispered, kissed his cheek and put her left arm across his chest, closing her eyes and allowing herself to fall into a deep sleep

"Please girls, not everyone at once" said Beast Boy in his sleep "I'm a one woman's man, I got my Raven…my dear sweet…Raven"

Author's Note:

Hey, some action in this chappie! Betcha didn't see that one coming huh? I tried to make equal screen time for every pairing, but…I kinda blew it with Raven and BB. If (and when) you review, please also include the action sequence between Robin and Red-X in your review, I tried to make it an action packed scene, please tell me if I succeeded and tell me what do I have to improve. And if you'll have enough patience, please also discuss the fluff, I want to know if I created good fluff scenes, again, tell me what I have to improve in my fluff scenes okay? THANKS!

Until next time, have a complimentary sandwich

Sandwich: oh boy, you're by far the most beautiful creature I've ever laid my olive eye on.

And if you've forgotten by now, review! Review! Review!

Sandwich: Correct.


	7. Control

Whoa folks! Look at that number! 61! Sixty freaking one reviews! That is so awesome! For those of you who read the last chapter, remember Raven's nightmare? Well, it's real, I've had that nightmare since I turned 14, but there's more to that nightmare and I had to cut it, due to the PG nature of my story. Okay, time for some replies! Chapter six only! Deal with it!

**Redlobster7878- **Thanks, oh and I kinda stole your wake-up idea, SO-RRY!

**Vampire-Orchid- **I hope you remembered to pray to my story last Sunday…lol anyway, thanks for the constructive review, hope to see more of those

**Shadowfirethedemonchild- **trust me, I know X said he's just a thief. I can quote the line if you want. Read the last chapters closely, Red-X is joining Slade so he can be with Starfire.

**Shock-to-your-system- **I sure hope I can turn this to your number one favorite fanfic

**Warprince2000- **I hope you'll like this chapter

**Yukigata- **thanks

**Rae1112- **What the hell was that supposed to be?!

And last but not least

**CrazyDeafGirl- **Hey, thanks. Trust me, I tried to make this chapter as good as the last one, hope I was successful

REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!!!!!

Disclaimer: I once owned the Teen Titans, and then I woke up

Chapter seven: Control

The silence of Beast Boy's room was pierced by a long yawn, drawn from the shape shifter's mouth. He opened his eyes, adjusting them to the new state of light and shade that surrounded him, his brain, also awakened, adjusted itself to this situation. Inside it, a little astronaut was flipping switches labeled after bodily functions and systems

"_Respiratory systems engaged, activating sight and sensing systems, muscles at eighty percent activity_" Beast Boy could now feel the rhythmic bursts of hot air, brushing against the back of his head. He turned his head aside and came face to face with Raven; she was still sleeping, a small smile on her face and an all around calm expression on her face, a bit of her violet hair brushed against her mouth and she blew it away every time she exhaled, it was then when Beast Boy noticed his left arm was trapped under Raven's body, he tried bulling it away and on it's way, his arm brushed against something, something warm which had a round solid and yet soft structure. It was when he realized what he touched when disaster struck

"_I'm detecting a major blood rush! Blood is leaving all major organs and is heading for the legs!_" another astronaut, sitting next to the first one had an expression of shock on his face "_I don't think it's heading for the legs_" he said with a worried tone. Beast Boy looked down on his body and his eyes widened, looks shifting from down on his body and Raven

"_Uh, Huston, we have a problem"_

_"What? What's wrong?!_" replied a terrified voice.

The astronaut's answer was a single word that made the voice called "Huston" to gasp in shock

"_Puberty_"

Raven opened her eyes and yawned, making Beast Boy squeal and quickly flip, now lying on his stomach, he turned his head towards her and smiled a shameful smile

"Uh…hi?" he said, bushing. Raven looked at his face, which had a strange green-reddish color to it

"Morning, how're you doing?" she replied

"Oh…just…just fine and you?" he answered, wiggling from side to side, trying to make himself comfortable

"Better than last night" she said, putting her arm around him. Beast Boy smiled, but inside his head, a voice cried "_Curse you puberty! Curse you!_"

"How's that flu of yours going?" he shot blindly

"Fine…I guess and yours?"

"Ah, I'm as healthy as a bull!" he jumped out of bed and morphed into a bull. Turning his head, he saw Raven's face was now as red as a fine tomato and a wide smile on her face, he quickly changed back

"What's so funny?" he demanded

"Well…it's just that….it looks more like you're as healthy as a stud" replied Raven laughed silently. Beast Boy looked down and ran towards the bathroom. He came out a few seconds later, his face dripping with cold water

"Better?" he asked

"Much better" replied the half-demon

"Um…how's a little breakfast sounds? I mean, you look a little hungry"

"To tell you the truth, I am, after all, you didn't get me any last night. C'mon, let's go get some food"

"Sounds good Rae"

Both got out of the room and walked to the kitchen. When they got there, they noticed the fridge door was already open. Lisa's head rose above the fridge's door

"Morning B, and…"

"Raven" replied the Goth

"Right, as I was saying, morning B, Rae, I mean I CAN call you Rae right?"

"Sure, so…you've been thinking about joining the Teen Titans right?" asked Raven

"Well sugar, yesterday, it didn't even cross my mind but the way things are now, sure! I mean, if that's okay with you. Beast Boy told me you have a little problem with outsiders" Raven seemed a little confused at start

"Oh, you mean HER" in the living room, the remote control exploded, shooting the sleeping Starfire into the air with a yelp

"…And that's why we have nine remotes" explained Beast Boy. Starfire floated slowly into the kitchen and poured herself a bowl of cereal

"Good morning friends, and how are you feeling today?"

"Fine" they all replied

"Hey Star, where's Robin?" asked Beast Boy while cooking a large tofu pancake

"Friend Robin has been battling the Red-X all night long" she replied while taking a spoon load of cereal and milk into her mouth

"WHAT?!" screamed Beast Boy and Raven in unison "You mean Red-X is here?"

"Pardon my misleading friends; Robin is battling the Red-X's mirror image in the training room" all the people present drew a sigh of relief

"Who's this Red-X guy anyway?" asked Lisa while sipping on a cup of coffee. The living room's door opened and Robin walked in, he was barely standing and walked like he was about to drop right on the carpet

"Whoa, night of the living Robin" said Raven, making the rest of the people present burst in laughter, save Starfire who asked "But what is funny about Robin being alive at night? Is it not normal to be alive at any time of the day?"

"Must…keep…going….must…take down…X" he said while barely making it to the table

"Must…you…talk…like…this?" said Beast Boy, sending the room into a second wave of laughter. Robin ignored him and poured himself a bowl of cereal and a cup of coffee, or at least, that's what he thought he was doing, in reality; the bowl was now half filled with grinded coffee and the cup was overloaded with chocolate flavored cereal.

"Uh, dude…you don't want to…" started Beast Boy, but Raven quickly put a hand to his face. Robin poured hot water into the bowl and drank its contents in a single gulp; he then took the cup and unloaded it into his mouth, swallowing it instantly. Sirens broke inside the room, which was now flashing red. Robin gained a state of full awareness and sprinted towards the main computer, meanwhile, Cyborg arrived from behind the garage door, his face was a sign he also hasn't awakened completely

"Titans, Kitten and Fang are rampaging through the clothing district, GO!" ordered Robin, pointing at the door. They all raced towards it when a loud crashing noise was heard, Lisa was the first to turn and see the amusing yet painful scene, Robin's body finally caved in due its situation. The Boy Wonder crashed on the floor and was fast asleep.

"Star, you stay and watch Boy Blunder over here. We'll take care of the dynamic dual" ordered Cyborg "Titans! GO!"

-

"Where is she?" roared Red-X's voice, his fist slammed against the coffee table, smashing it to bits. The underground cavern caused his voice to echo between one wall and another, shaking the entire complex

"Where's who my dear X?" pretended Slade

"Don't play dumb with me Slade. We had a deal, I'll free cat girl and that Fang thing and you'll bring Starfire here, now where is she?!"

"I don't recall having that sort of a deal with you, Red-X" replied the madman coldly

Red-X's eyes narrowed to two slits in his mask "I am not a common thief Slade, fool with me and-"

"Is that a threat I hear in your tone?" said Slade while stepping forward, emphasizing the difference of height between him and Red-X. He was much taller and the criminal was at the height of his neck, looking up to his one eye.

"What if it is?" he shot. Without a word, Slade buried his right fist into Red-X's stomach, sending him flying towards the wall of the little cavern. The vigilante was caught off guard and rammed his back against the wall and fell on his knees. He got up, grunting and extended the two X shaped blades on the back of his arms, in response; Slade pulled out his Bo-staff and pointed it forward

"What is it with you people and Bo staffs?" said X and charged ahead, the light from the little light bulb above made the blades shine red as he swung them towards Slade's body. Slade slammed his pole against Red-X's blades and was surprised to hit a black shimmer, he quickly turned around and blocked a series of punches and kicks delivered by Red-X. The criminal swung his fist and Slade grabbed it millimeters from his face, Red-X's palm opened and Slade was blasted back by a red X shaped beam. As he landed, Slade hit a small table and quickly got up

"I see you have your Xinothium powered weapons back" he said

"Never leave home without 'em" replied X and pounced into a roundhouse kick. Slade grabbed his leg and smashed the dark vigilante against the wall, allowing him to fall on the floor; Red-X got up and clenched his fists

"What makes you think you can beat me?" taunted Slade "The only one who came close to beating me was Robin and obviously, you are in a different league than his"

"You're right about that one" said Red-X when 5 steel X's appeared in his right hand "I'm better" he threw them towards the criminal mastermind and started sprinting in the same direction. Slade deflected the five throwing stars with ease but was surprised to see X's leg, diving towards his face; he raised his hand to block the blow and was surprised when he felt the smashing kick to the backside of his right knee. Slade fell down backwards but he was still fighting, he grabbed Red-X's underarms and tossed him towards the wall. X twisted in midair and hit the wall legs first, propelling him to another takedown attack, in response, Slade jabbed his staff in the ground and used it to take a spinning kick at Red-X's Ribs, while in midair. His attack was successful and Red-X was blown back, teleporting onto a crate, he launched a salvo of exploding X's. Slade dodged them all with incredible agility and resumed his posture, it was then when he looked down and was horrified to discover one X jabbed into his belt's buckle, he looked back up to see Red-X, who regained his mocking position, waving him goodbye. The explosive went off, blasting Slade into a wall. He could barely stand and in front of him, Red-X had his usual mocking position, with his arms around his waist and his mask, giving his face a cocky smile expression

"Ya'Know something Slade? You're a pretty wise man and I have to admit, you've got a really cool mystery villain thing going on, but you made one fatal mistake. You decided to fool me"

"And now what? Are you going to kill me?" replied Slade, still supporting himself with a nearby crate. His voice still had the powerful tine to it and it made Red-X hesitate "_What is he up to? I practically wiped the floor with him, what does he still have on me?_"

"No" replied the criminal "I'm a thief, not a killer and I joined you to steal something, one girl's heart"

"And that's where you made your mistake" said Slade while slowly pacing towards him "If there's one thing that can destroy and corrupt your mind, its love. Your biggest mistake was to join me in the cause of love Red-X; I saw that and took advantage of your situation and now, you're going to pay for attacking me, now, SIT!" Slade pushed a button on his wrist and a sharp pain went through Red-X's head. He gave out a tortured moan and collapsed to his knees but came back up and slowly walked towards Slade who grinned under his mask and turned a dial next to the button on his wrist. Red-X collapsed again; he was screaming in pain but still didn't give up

"Are you willing to play nice now, my apprentice?" asked Slade with a powerful tone

"Not in your lifetime I won't" replied Red-X, in his right hand appeared one lone X shaped throwing star and he winded his arm, preparing to throw the razor sharp projectile.

"Fine, have it your way" said the villain and twisted the dial to its highest position. Red-X gave a short pain riddled scream and fainted, the lone X dropping from his opened hand.

-

"Get them Fangy-Wangy! Hit 'em hard!" screamed Kitten. Five stories above the ground, Fang was battling the three Titans, Beast Boy took the shape of a hawk and flew at top speed towards the half-arachnid when he saw the large wad of web flying towards him

"_Not this time you won't_" he thought and flew above the large ball, only to be hit by the purple paralyzing venom the Fang's fangs produced, he was now human again and was diving towards the ground at a mind blowing speed

"Mayday! Mayday!" screamed the changeling as he dived closer and closer to the grey cement. Inches before impact, he slowed down because of a negative black barrier and was caught by Cyborg, who then looked at Kitten which was screaming all sorts of different slogans that involved Fang

"I'll probably hate myself in the morning for doing this" he said "Hey Kitten! Think fast!" Cyborg threw Beast Boy like a football towards the surprised Kitten who failed to catch the shape shifter, causing both him and her to crash into the ground

"Thanks Cy, all those screams made concentrating a bit too hard for me" said Raven while pulling her blue hood down with two fingers

"Azerath, Metrion, Zinthos!" she chanted. Glowing negative energy surrounded her hands and a piece of the building was knocked into Fang's head, sending him crashing towards the ground. He landed on all four spider legs but collapsed seconds later.

"How the heck did those two break loose?" asked Beast Boy while he, Raven and Cyborg watched Kitten and Fang being pulled into the large police car

"For once, B said something smart. How did those two get out? They're too weak to get out by themselves"

"Maybe someone freed them" suggested Beast Boy

"But why? I mean, how someone can gain from having Kitten and Fang loose?" asked Raven bluntly.

"Maybe it's a set-up, you know, a distraction?" suggested Lisa

"I sure hope not" said Raven "'cause if it is, we just fell for it. Hook line and sinker"

-

"X, you seriously messed up this time" said Red-X to himself. He looked around and scanned his surroundings. It was a laboratory of some sort, test tubes, syringes, computers and technicians that ran from one place to another, typing numbers into the computer. X looked down on himself and noticed his belt has been removed "_typical_" he thought and gave the room one more glance, on the far side of the room, his belt lied on a table with probes buzzing all around it.

"_Belt or no belt, I ain't nobody's science project_" he thought and looked at his restrains, Titanium restraining straps made sure he could do nothing more than to move his head, palms and feet. "Hope there's still a little juice in the system" he said to himself as his right hand began to produce a red X throwing star. He started picking the lock on his wrist and sonly freed himself. Red-X crept slowly to the other side of the complex, moving hidden in the shadows and under desks, he finally made it to the other end. Wearing his belt, the criminal sneaked out of the room. The moment he left the room, he saw Slade, gazing from the shadows

"Better luck next time Slade" he said and tried to teleport, without success.

"What the-" X's eyes widened when he realized it wasn't the belt that didn't respond to his command, it was his arm. His arms were still in the same position as they were when he left the laboratory.

"Yes my dear apprentice, I decided to have you no matter what and now, I do" said Slade calmly, his body still hidden in the shadows

"What have you done to me?" demanded the dark vigilante, but his voice no longer had the all so familiar mocking tone, his voice was filled with panic

"Did you really think I just knocked you out and strapped you to a lab table just for the sake fun of it? Feel the back of your neck" Red-X's hand moved slowly and detected the small round object

"What is that thing?"

"That. my friend is a neural-governor. With it, I can control all of your movement skills, you see my dear X, you are now a pawn in my hands"

"I hate chess" said Red-X and charged ahead. Slade turned the dial on his wrist and Red-X collapsed again with screams of pain.

"Don't you understand? We are as one now!" Slade clenched his fist and at the same time, so did Red-X

"And what do you want from me?" Red-X's voice was now consumed with rage

"I want you to destroy the Teen Titans!" said Slade and pushed the center of his belt

"No! you can't force me to-" the criminal vanished into a black shimmer, before even finishing his sentence.

Author notes:

Was that a cliff-hanger? I think it was! Hooray! My first clifffie! Anyway, stay tuned for the next chapter and review, review, review!


	8. XTermination

How you doin' kids? Red-X here, coming back with more replies to your reviews. Now don't worry, I ain't here to steal RavenOnline's story again, I'm over it, those bumps on my head really helped me. Anyway, just for you to know, RavenOnline hasn't updated in a long time for a justified reason so put down those shotguns! Yeah, you in the back, I can see you too! As I was saying, dear ol' Raven formatted his computer lately because of his stupid little sister's shenanigans so it took him a while to post this chapter. Okay, okay. Replies time!

**Redlobster7878- **Thanks man, me and the chief really appreciate it. Besides, it was your idea to make a wake up scene so THANK YOU!

**(Clears throat) The beautiful N' lovely Starfire fan 09. (Inhales)- **Girl, do me a favor, next time you ask RavenOnline to dedicate you a review, get a shorter name! Thanks for reviewing and oh, almost forgot! RavenOnline told me he couldn't fit your idea in this chapter but maybe he'll try it next chapter okay?

**Warprince2000- **Wait no more! It is here!

**Steve-Racer (both Reviews) – **Rave (Can I just call him Rave?) told me he'll try and make the action less formulaic and a bit more interesting.

**Blaze-Firestorm**-That was where me and Rave were going at. Fluffy and yet funny.

**Yukigata-** And he updated again!

**Vampire-Orchid- **Wait no more! Chapter eight is here!

**CrazyDeafGirl-** Good to see you again and so sorry your mom has a beat on grounding you. Rave's mom always goes nuclear on him and he's always able to sneak out of it so I believe you'll be able to slick your way out of this.

Ok, where were we…oh yeah! The chapter! Take it away Rave!

-

Disclaimer: Nope, I still don't own the Teen Titans. I do own Shadow-Assassins

Chapter eight: X-Termination

Jump City's clothing district was one again at a relative state of peace. The storekeepers, who got used to the super powered villains coming to rob their stores, were reopening the doors and hanging the "OPEN" signs. The customars were soon to follow and once again, the state of business making has been restored. Cyborg, Lisa, Raven and Beast Boy stood in front of the building on which they just fought Fang, it was a five stories building with a large "Clothes Emporium" sign above the main doors

"Dude c'mon!" said Beast Boy, pulling Raven towards the main doors

"Yeah Rae, we all need some new civilian clothes, C'mon, it'll be fun" Cyborg grabbed Lisa's arm and they both walked in

"See?" started Beast Boy, pointing at Cyborg and Lisa "They already went in, oh come on Rae, please?" he knew what he had to do. He morphed into a small green parrot and flew inside her hood, standing on the inside of the dark blue hood, he squawked into Raven's ear

"Qouth the raven_, NEVERMORE_!!!"

"Okay, okay!" She said while using her powers to extract Beast Boy from her hood "I might as well get some new clothes". Walking past the large glass doors displayed a new world to Raven; she stood in the middle of the first floor, looking all around her.

"This place is so pointless" she remarked. Out of nowhere, a boy about her age and height, wearing a black shirt and blue jeans with black hair appeared

"Everything's pointless, wanna-"

"Oh no you don't, she's my girlfriend!" screamed Beast Boy and shoved the boy aside. The Goth boy sighed and walked away, mumbling something both Raven and Beast Boy couldn't hear.

"Did you really mean it?" asked Raven suddenly

"Meant what?"

"What you said there"

"Uh…and by that you'll be referring to…"

"Me being your girlfriend" she glared at him. Beast Boy blushed and loosened his costume's collar

"Oh course I did Rae"

"Good answer, now C'mon, lets go get some clothes"

-

The living room of Titans tower was awkwardly quiet. Deathly silence surrounded the large room, save the ticking noises that came from the left side of the room, where Starfire was sitting in front of the Titans' mainframe, pounding the small keys with frustration. On the couch, covered with a yellow blanket with a black R, laid Robin, his teeth were gritted and he was tossing and turning on the surface of the narrow couch. In his mind, haunting voices spoke to him

"…My apprentice"

"You will obey my every command"

"Attack Robin, use the blaster, I command you!"

"What kind of deal did you have in mind?"

"Partnership"

"…Don't you wanna play? After all, they're your toys"

"C'mon kids, X marks the spot"

"I'm not a threat to your precious city, just lookin' out for number one"

"You think you gave this guy enough gadgets?"

"Don't you dare compare me to him!"

"He's gone Robin"

"Gone…"

He jumped up with a gasp, lost his balance and fell off the couch, knocking his body on the cold floor. Hearing the sound that the crash made, Starfire turned and ran towards Robin, who was now lying on the floor, groaning because of the pains that attacked his body. Starfire leaned towards him, placing one hand below his head and raising it

"Robin, are you okay?" she pleaded. The Boy Wonder, still half asleep, stretched his body and yawned

"Not now Alfred…Combat training starts in one hour" he said and turned his head aside

"Who is this Alfred? It is I, Starfire. Are you okay?" she asked again. Robin snapped out of his trance "Huh? Yeah, I'm okay" he replied quickly, getting on his feet

"Splendid!" she screamed, hugging him

"Star…Air…Everything's turning black…" he said, holding on his last seconds of air

"Forgive me" she said, letting go of him

"It's…its okay" he said, coughing "I just need a glass of water" Starfire got back to the computer and Robin went to the kitchen, poring himself a glass of water, the liquid was too cold for Robin's mouth so he closed his eyes and kept on drinking. A silent squeal made him open his eyes, looking towards the direction of the noise. Red-X stood behind Starfire, his hand around her mouth, an X shaped throwing star in his hand and only millimeters away from the young Tamaranian's neck. The glass was dropped to the floor and Robin charged, sprinting towards the criminal with a battle cry

"Don't do it!" exclaimed Red-X, eyes wide, it made Robin stop "You can't make me do it!" he screamed again, both Robin and Starfire looking at him with strange looks. The vigilante raised his head towards Robin's

"Hit me kid!" he said with a voice filled with panic. Robin didn't need X to tell him that twice, he pounced at Red-X and smashed his Bo-staff against his ribs, blowing him towards the couch. He got up and extended his backhand X blades

"Kid, listen to me! You gotta stop him!" he screamed before charging at The Boy Wonder, swinging the blades towards his body. The blades and the staff were locked together and Red-X and Robin came inches away from each other

"What do you mean 'have to stop him'?" asked Robin while forcing his staff down, locking the blades even further

"Let's just I haven't been myself around lately" Red-X back-flipped, unlocking Robin's staff from his blades and sending The Boy Wonder flying towards the mainframe. Robin hit his head on the computer and looked up to see a red Bo-staff diving towards his face, he rolled aside and kept dodging the staff, finally able to be on the offensive, Robin shot his bird-a-rand grapping hook towards Red-X's legs, the cord twisted around his legs and Robin pulled, making the criminal take a dive to the ground. The Boy wonder got up and looked at Red-X's weapon

"I thought you hated Bo-staffs" he said while extending his own

"Slade is behind all thi-" he grabbed his head and screamed with pain, regaining his combat position and charging at Robin

"What are you talking about?" asked Robin while dodging a series of attacks. Red-X pulled a frontal flip and landed behind Robin, slamming the red staff on his back, Robin was sent crashing to the ground, but he managed to twist his body into a successful landing

"I know that move, it's Slade's!" he exclaimed while dodging a swipe from the red Bo-staff

"C'mon kid, make one plus one, I thought you were supposed to be smart" said the vigilante while pouncing at Robin and pinning him against the floor. Robin looked at Red-X's hand, which sprouted an X shaped blade with horror, the blade started spinning and made a sickening voice as it cut through the air. Even though his face was covered with a mask, Robin noticed that Red-X was struggling against his own body, trying to pull his arm back up. The blade came closer and closer to Robin's neck and he closed his eyes, awaiting the death blow

"I'm sorry kid" said Red-X when he was bombed away from Robin by a barrage of green Starbolts, behind him stood an extremely raging Starfire, smoke still rising from her palms. The vigilante got on his and prepared for another attack

"The Back of my head!" he screamed and gave another shriek. Robin used that moment of weakness and charged, slamming his Bo-staff against Red-X's chest, sending him crashing to the ground, even before hitting it, another blow came to Red-X's left temple, a third blow was sent to his ribs, turning him upside down. Robin came closer and saw the round object jabbed in the back of Red-X's neck, he tried pulling it, but it was no use

"Starfire, give me a hand!" the alien girl approached and pulled the object out. A needle extended from the bottom side of the device and injected something into Red-X's body. The front side, consisting of two buttons and a video screen showed Slade's face

"So you've stopped my little pond Robin, congratulations" said the madman while clapping

"What are you up to Slade?" asked Robin with a raging voice

"That's for you to find out my dear boy, but in the mean time, let's play a little game. I'm sure you saw the needle that was jabbed into Red-X's neck right?" Robin nodded

"It contained a powerful viral agent that would kill him in a few hours and in case you're wondering, the antidote formula is known only to me, but I'm willing to give it to you"

"Where's the catch?" shot Robin

"See the two buttons on the bottom of the device? By pressing the red one, the video screen will display the antidote formula, by pressing the yellow one, it'll display a map that will lead you directly to my hideout, you can only pick one and time's running out" Slade's face disappeared and instead appeared the digit five, followed by four. Robin looked down at Red-X, who was groaning in pain and turned his look to Starfire

"It is the right thing to do Robin" she said and placed her hand on his shoulder. Robin looked at Red-X again and pressed the red button

-

"Oh C'mon Rae, try it!" exclaimed an excited Lisa. After they entered the mall, the four Titans split up. Beast Boy and Cyborg headed for "The Bizarre-O' Shack" whereas Lisa dragged Raven inside "Ricky's Swimsuit Boutique" and was forcing a black two-piece bikini on the half demon

"I don't do bikinis" replied Raven shortly

"But it'll be perfect on you!" she tried again, pushing the hanger closer to Raven's face

"I told you I don't do swimming suits!"

"I'll bet Beast Boy will love it" she tried

"For the last time Lisa, I don't-" a spark lit up Raven's violet eyes "You…you think so?" she asked hopefully

"Trust me sugar, if I didn't, I wouldn't have said it" replied the female android with a smile. Raven stood still for a moment and again, looked up at Lisa

"I'll try one if you will" she finally said, catching Lisa off-guard

"I…I don't…" she mumbled

"What's the matter?" said Raven while taking a pink two-piece off the rack and handing it to Lisa "Chicken?"

-

"Dude, check out this sweet mili-jeans!" said Beast Boy while storming out of his dressing booth towards Cyborg's. He wore black jeans with white stains, urban-camouflage style, a black T-shirt and on his neck, a dog-tag

"Nice! Very nice" said Cyborg as he looked at Beast Boy's new outfit

"Yeah, I'm thinking this'll be my new look, the Beast-Dude look" Both their communicators beeped

"Yeah? What is it Rob?" asked Cyborg. On the other side of the line, Robin looked at the four-way split screen

"We need you down here guys, we have an unexpected visitor" said an ashamed Boy Wonder and pointed his communicator towards Red-X, who was on one of the beds of the med-lab, strapped with restrains from top to bottom (A/N: see "Haunted", the way they tied up Robin)

"What the-" Started Cyborg

"What is he doing there?!" demanded Raven

"Dude, is that Red-X? Out of all the people you know, you had to invite Red-X?!"

"So this is Red-X, doesn't look to tough though" said Lisa

"Anyway, I'll need you down here, I don't want to keep him all by myself" snapped Robin

"A'ight man, we're on our way" said Cyborg

"Speak for yourself, I have some business to attend to" said Raven and started struggling with her black bikini which wasn't noticed by anyone. Five minutes later, the four titans met at the exit of the mall, they all had small bags, except Beast Boy, who wore his new clothes.

"New look Beast Boy?" asked a surprised Raven

"That's Beast-Dude" he said and grinned

"Whatever" replied the three and walked out of the mall, heading for the T-car.

-

"Omega leader, this is Bravo second, I got a fix on our targets" said a female figure standing on a building in front of the shopping mall

"What's your sit-rep (A/N: Situation-Report) Bravo two?" replied a voice through her ear

"I'm scoping them out of the Clothing Emporium, sights are hot"

"Eliminate"

A silent "whish" slipped through the long barrel of the figure's sniper rifle as the bullet left its former casing, screaming towards a blue hooded girl. Inches before impact, the slug was incased in black energy and was dropped to the floor harmlessly

"What the-" asked the figure standing on the roof when a long stream of bullets forced her to duck down

"Into the car, now!" commanded Lisa, making the others sprint into the T-car. Cyborg gunned the accelerator and the car boomed forward, heading towards the nearest highway. The figure opened a backpack and took out a large green tube

"Adios amigos" she said and pulled the trigger. A single missile was shot out and began streaking towards the T-car; the explosion could have been heard for miles away. The T-car exploded in a magnificent display of fire and twisted metal, leaping into the air the second the missile hit the back of it, sending the vehicle flying into a blazing inferno.

"Omega leader, mission complete, the Teen Titans have been eliminated, returning to base for debrief" said the figure and turned around, only to face the four Titans

"Nobody thrashes my baby" said Cyborg and blasted the figure back with his sonic cannon

"Backup!" said the figure. Suddenly, the Titans were surrounded by Slade-Bots who seemed to emerge from thin air.

"Are those-" said Beast Boy

"Slade-Bots" completed Raven

"So many of them" added a panicked Lisa

"Uh, Rob?" said Cyborg to his arm

"What is it Cy?" said a worried Robin

"We have a situation down here" Cyborg turned his hand so that Robin could see the Slade-Bots

"I'm on my way" he said and signed off the comm.-channel

-

"Star, the Titans are in trouble, I'll go and help them while you stay here and watch over X" commanded Robin as he hopped on his R-cycle

"Can't I come with you?" she tried. Robin looked up to her

"No, I need someone to stay here and see if the antidote I gave X works"

"The Red-X is quite durable, I am sure that he'll be among the living when we return. Please?" she pleaded

"Starfire, I command you to stay here and watch over Red-X's condition, that's a direct order" he said sharply. Starfire lowered her head in defeat and started pacing towards the med-lab. Robin placed his helmet on his head and raced out of the tower, heading towards the clothing district.

Author Notes:

This chapter was pointless, I know, you don't have to tell me. I encountered a writer's block and wasn't able to break it, sorry. If you liked it, I'm glad and I promise the next one will be way better.

Review, Review, Review!

Peace out


	9. One Last Chance

Hey guys (and girls, I don't discriminate) what's with the low amount of reviews? From the grand awesome 11 reviews per chapter I'm down to 4?(It was 4 on Sunday) Please do more! Sorry about the last chapter, it was an introduction to this one. I know this has turned into an action fic, but hold on; the fluff is coming back, starting this chapter! This chapter was created by the positive affect old school Metallica has on me.

Replies to reviews!

**Redlobster7878-**Thanks for the cheer up, I really needed it

**Blaze-Firestorm-**Again, thanks for the moral support. P.S, I know Red-X is taking some credit, he helped me with chapter 7 so I let him get some stoplight

**Mephisto2022- **Wow, I fell like everyone loves me so much…thanks!

**Yugikata- **Next chapter ready and waiting for inspection

**Warprince2000-** That looks like your review on my last chapter, stop using Copy/Paste or you'll get addicted! (Happened to me once)

**Terraskewl- **I hope it did, have a look and let me know!

**Hyper-Gurl1-** I've seen a lot worse my dear girl, just look at me. It'll take more than that to scare me (looks down on his own shadow) Ack! Boogeyman! (Runs away)

**Kory Hime- **I reviewed your story again, will you do mine? Here, have a brand new cookie!

-

Disclaimer: Running across baron wastes, I come across a small box, opening it; I find a note that says: I don't own the Teen Titans

Chapter nine: One Last Chance

"_You are now a pawn in my hands_" –Slade

"_I hate chess_"- Red-X

-

Rain. It has been raining for the past four hours, drop after drop, covering the streets of Jump City with a thin layer of slippery water, most of the people were in their homes, keeping themselves warm, mothers taking care of their children. Those who were unlucky to be outside were rushing to get home, driving through traffic jams created by a misfortunate accident.

"I'm sorry honey; I've been stuck in this traffic jam for the past hour and don't think I'll be in time for- WHOA!" the driver lowered his head as the red flash flew over his new car, it's rear wheel smashing into the car's roof, making it sink a bit

"What happened? Are you okay?" came a worried voice from the man's cell phone. The driver took the small device with his shaking hands, still quivering with fear; he opened his window and looked outside, the rain poring on him. The sight that was revealed to his was a red motorcycle, zooming on top of cars, heading to where he just came back from, the clothing district.

The R-cycle bolted from one car to the other, heading towards for the clothing district. Robin gritted his teeth and twisted the throttle back even further. Making the vehicle speed up. He knew he had to get there quick, his friends were in trouble, caught by a dirty ambush set by Slade. "_Slade_" The mere thought about him made Robin feel sick, but that wasn't the only reason he felt that way, there was something on his mind and it was clear on his face that there was something else on his mind, aside from his friends.

"_I shouldn't have left her alone with him_" he thought as his bike finally skipped the last car, touching the shining black road, the R-Cycle caught up speed, bolting across the road with tremendous speed. Robin, though troubled, was quick on his reflexes and kept evading the oncoming cars, but the thought of Starfire, his love, in the same room as Red-X kept swirling in his mind. He wouldn't admit he loved her, oh no, he saw what happens when two teammates fall in love with each other; the memory of Beast Boy's sleepless night after Terra's death were still locked in his mind. He knew Starfire would never betray them, but he was also complied with his senses, expecting the unexpected, ready for each and every one of his friends to turn his or hers back on the team. The other Titans didn't know that Robin has been also training against them in the training simulator. That was another one the things he liked to keep for himself.

-

"Man, where is he?!" screamed Cyborg. After they contacted Robin, the situation had gone from bad to worse, they were forced to take cover behind a large dumpster to avoid the Slade-Bots' gunfire. He looked to the left and saw Lisa loading another two magazines into her MP5's

"Wherever he is, he better get here fast!" she said back as she rose up and fired a few bursts of rounds which were followed by loud explosions, lowering herself to dodge the laser bursts from the Slade-bots "I'm running out of ammo!". Beast Boy sat behind the dumpster between them both and seemed as though he was planning something, Cyborg replaced Lisa and bombarded the robots with his sonic cannon, he tried to get down but was hit by a few shots and was thrown back, dropping on the floor with a painful groan.

"This has gone long enough!" exclaimed Raven, she levitated up, encased with black energy and faced the robots.

"Azerath…" black energy surrounded the robots, disabling them from moving "Metrion…" the field started growing tighter and tighter, crushing them "Zin..." Raven was blasted back by a flash of silver light. She looked down on her stomach and saw the large tear in her leotard; her skin was in a color of red and was painful to touch. The half demon gritted her teeth with pain and lied on the floor, groaning with pain. Cyborg, who got up, approached her and pulled a canister from his left portion of his torso.

"Give her something to bite" he said. Beast Boy looked around, finding nothing he put a rubber band oh his index finger, numbing it, he put it inside Raven's mouth and she tightened her teeth on it.

"This is going to hurt Raven" said Cyborg, Raven just nodded "A lot" she nodded again "You're sure?" she gave one last nod. The canister's nozzle came closer to Raven's stomach and released a blast of white gas. Raven locked her teeth on Beast Boy's finger and released a painful groan, her body jolting upwards. It dropped down and Beast Boy took his finger out of her mouth. Raven breathed quick breaths of pain and lied motionless. Beast Boy's rage was at an unbearable stage; he approached Lisa and talked to her

"I got a plan" he said

"What is it?" she asked while reloading her machine guns again

"What's the biggest bomb you got?" he asked. Lisa opened a cavity in her right leg and pulled out a black device the size of a football. Beast Boy looked at it and took it from her hands

"Do you have any weapon that can provide suppression fire in that armory of yours?" Lisa's MP5's retracted and were replaced by one large mean looking machine gun with a belt of bullets dangling from beneath it. She nodded

"Here's the plan" he started "You draw their attention and I'll give them this baby as a present" Lisa grinned and padded Beast Boy on the head

"You have a very good field strategy skill, where did you get it?"

"Playing America's Army "(A/N: I'm going to get my butt sued off me after this)

"Okay B, sounds like a plan, ready, on three. Three!"

Beast Boy morphed into a small monkey and stormed out of the side of the dumpster, running towards the side of the group. The Slade-Bots didn't take long before aiming at him but were surprised at the shell shower dealt by Lisa's machine gun. They immediately started shooting towards Lisa, providing the changeling with the distraction he needed. He morphed back into a human and pressed the button labeled "ARM". A beep was sounded and the small screen on the front of the black device said "Primed". He threw the bomb towards the robots and quickly ducked down. The area was covered by a huge explosion, the fire roared into the sky, engulfing the Slade-Bots in a whirlwind of flames.

"Awesome!" yelled the changeling

"Booyah!" screamed both Cyborg and Lisa, giving each other a hi-five

"The best of the best" said Raven and groaned again. The three came out of their hiding place; Lisa was carrying Raven in her arms. Beast Boy rushed towards them and was welcomed by a wave of hi-fives.

"Great going B, you really-" Cyborg's words were swallowed in a loud explosion. They looked back, seeing the seven characters coming out of the smoke. Six of them were dressed alike, with complete black outfits, night vision goggles and gas masks.

"I know these guys" said a worried Lisa

"Care to share?" panted Beast Boy

"They're Shadow-assassins, mercs (A/N: Mercenaries), killers for hire. Best in their line of work, I fought them a while back when I was a SEAL, they're good, too good" she explained. Beast Boy and Cyborg tensed up and got ready for battle while Raven got off Lisa's hands and also prepared herself for combat.

"Thing is, I don't know the one in the middle" she said while readying her MP5's for another fight.

"Don't worry" said the man in the middle. Though he spoke silently and was at a great distance from them, they could all hear him; his voice seemed to pierce right into their ears, the cold, calculated voice.

"You'll have plenty of time to get to know me Ms. Valentine" lightning flashed across the skies and the man's face reflected the bright white light. Lisa narrowed her eyes, it wasn't his face, it was a bronze mask.

-

Robin's bike skidded to a halt, a large pillar of fire rose from the clothing area. He gunned his bike's throttle and raced across the slippery road. Reaching the clothing district, he noticed the road was completely blocked. "_No time, Titans, Go!"_ screamed his brain, once again, he gunned the R-cycle's throttle and speeded into a mall's parking lot, racing around the floors of the large structure with incredible speed, he reached the top floor, the opened one. He stopped his bike near the ledge, looking down; he saw the four Titans and the seven people standing in front of them. When his eyes scanned the group, he felt a very familiar sickening feeling, like his insides were on fire; he knew that feeling too well, it was Slade. The Boy Wonder drove his bike to the opposite point of the lot's floor, he looked at the small fence in front of him and gulped, twisting his throttle back a couple of times so the R-Cycle's engine would be ready for such an exerting effort, he gunned it. The R-Cycle roared as it bolted from it's former position, getting closer and closer to the edge, Robin knew what he had to do, eight months of jump practice on the R-Cycle won't fail him now, he raised the front wheel and leaped over the small concrete fence, diving like a bomb shell towards the group, cutting through the rain like a hot knife through butter. Inches before impact, Robin bailed out, jumping off his trusty bike. The six assassins leaped sideways dead on time, but Slade was caught off-guard, the bike rammed right into him and detonated, sending the villain flying towards a lamp post, he slammed into it head-on, twisting the solid steel post, he dropped on the floor, face first into a puddle of water. Slade got up quickly and glanced at Robin

"It took you long enough, I expected you to come sooner" he said calmly

"You cost me my bike, big mistake" replied Robin and charged

-

Footsteps, that's the only sound Starfire has heard for the past fifteen minutes, her own footsteps. She's been pacing up and down the same hallway over and over again, hoping that her communicator would become active and that Robin would tell her to come and assist them. "_Why has he left to guard the Red-X? I am not the strongest one in the team_" she thought. A loud groan of pain shot her back to reality "_I wish not to do this, but I do not wish to disappoint friend Robin_" said her mind as she ran towards the med-lab. She slid the large white door aside and stepped in; the room was not a big one, colored in white and filled with all sorts of medical instruments, in the middle of the room, strapped from top to bottom with black belts, laid a motionless Red-X. Starfire looked at him with eyes full of anger "_His source of power is his belt, by taking it off, I will be able to join Robin_" she thought as she came closer to him, she stood to his right and reached slowly towards his belt, careful not to wake him up. Her hand touched the buckle of the belt and to her surprise, a grey gloved hand reached out and grabbed her wrist, she gasped in both shock and pain and turned her head to the right, to meet with Red-X's eyes, he was still laying on the bed, but the slight movement space he got allowed him to grab her wrist

"Sorry cutie, we're playing doctor now, not dress-up" said his distorted voice

"The Red-X? You are…awake?" she asked, still in shock

"Looks like it, cutie" he replied, grinning under his mask

"May you please let my arm go? You are hurting it" Red-X raised an eyebrow, causing the left eye slit in his mask to grow

"Oops, sorry about that" he said, releasing her wrist. She started rubbing it and again looked at X

"May I ask you a question?" she asked, sitting on a chair in front of him

"Shoot"

"There is this word you like to call me, correct?"

"You mean cutie?"

"Yes, tell me, what is the meaning of this word? Is it a bad thing?" Red-X looked at her uncomfortably; it took him a while to find his words

"Not at all cutie, it's like calling someone 'beautiful' or 'gorgeous" he explained

"Do you find me beautiful, Red-X?" He was caught completely off guard with that question. Under his mask, his face was completely red, but on the outside he kept his cool appearance

"Of course I do" he replied coolly, Starfire slightly blushed, immediately, hiding it

"I saw you blushing, I saw you blushing…" chanted his distorted voice, causing the young Tamaranian to grow even redder

"I most certainly did not, and you should be thankful I'm not leaving you alone" she stated

"We both know that's not gonna happen cutie" he replied coolly

"What makes you so confident of your words?" she snapped

"Two reasons: One, I'm sure the only reason you're here is 'cuz the kid told you to stay here and-"

"Please, who is this 'kid'?" she asked

"Boy Wonder of course. As I was saying, there's a second reason you're here"

"And what is that?" she inquired

"I'm the only thing amusing you, and we all know how much you like to be amused" he turned his head towards her "Don't you?"

"I must confess, some of your combat moves are quite hilarious" she giggled softly and lowered her head

"What is it?"

"It is nothing, I just remembered of the time you pulled Robin's mask during a battle you two conducted" she giggled again. Red-X seemed pondered for a second and then burst into a wave of laughter, the voice distorter causing it to sound almost mechanical.

"Yeah, you're right cutie. That was pretty funny. Remember that time at first national when I pinned Gizmo against the wall with my X's and when he tried to release himself-"

"His outfit fell off!" completed Starfire, now laughing hysterically "That was most disgusting at first, but I recall me and my friends joking about it for days. But tell me, why were you and the HIVE fighting?"

"Simple, I got there first" he explained

"I must ask another question" she said, wiping tears of laughter from her cheeks

"Feel free to do so" he replied

"We have confronted you numerous times after the battle at professor Chang's observatory. Why did the chief of police notified Robin of your belt being stolen just today?"

"'Cuz in the past, whenever I took it, I stole what I needed and brought it back" he replied

"And you are not planning to do it again?" she asked with hope

"Nope" he replied, Starfire's hopeful look disappeared

"Why?" she asked

"'Cuz I want to be with you"

"WHAT?!" her voice nearly shattered Red-X eardrums

"Why did you think I stole the belt and joined Slade? 'Cuz I like his suit? I joined him so he'll bring you to me" Starfire was speechless (A/N: Did I just use that word?!)

"I…I am flattered by your compliment, it's just that…" she lowered her head

"What is it cutie?" he asked, his voice no longer having that mocking edge, it was now more like a spite of caring

"I…I already have my heart set on someone else, my love, Robin"

"Well that figures" he said, gaining a spite of anger and sadness in his voice.

"Do not worry Red-X, there shall be other girls" she tried

"Of course there will cutie, but there'll never be another you" he replied. Starfire didn't know how to answer that when her communicator started beeping "You might wonna get that" he commented. Starfire placed the small device against her ear

"Hello? Yes friend Raven, he is-, get there? But what about-, I see, goodbye" she closed her communicator and was about to leave the room

"What is it?" he asked

"It seems as though my friends have faced an opponent they cannot handle by themselves and they require my help, but I fear I will lose Robin, as he has again faced Slade"

"Well, good luck" he said and rested his head on the pillow. Starfire exited the room and Red-X was left alone, he closed his eyes and turned his head aside towards the wall, then to the other. He reopened his eyes and looked at the door

"Cutie!" he screamed, Starfire's head appeared

"What is it?" she asked

"You really care about him, don't you?"

"More than my own life" was her reply

"Untie me"

"Are you going to aid us in the defeat of Slade?"

"Yeah, just don't tell it to any of my friends"

"Rest assure as I do not know any of your friends" she replied while removing his restrains. Red-X hopped of the bed and stretched his body

"Let's go, those kids need the cavalry"

Starfire rushed towards the exit but saw Red-X heading towards the roof access

"Where are you going? Only I can get us there" she stated, staring at Red-X

"Don't worry cutie, you just get there, I won't be long" ran towards a door labeled "Flight Hangar" and shut the door behind him. Looking at the R-Jet, he slammed his fist against his open palm and his eyes narrowed to slits

"Payback time Slade"

Author Notes:

Whew, that was a long one, but I really enjoyed writing it, and I'm hoping you enjoyed reading it. I tried some Red-X Starfire fluff, tell me how I did okay? I may keep it up if you liked it. How were the action sequences? Were they okay or do I have to change something? Last but not least, check my grammar, it's very important to me. Next chapter will have the last action bits and then the fluff will be making a grand comeback! To all of you who didn't understand how Lisa could fit in a bikini, I'll tell you this. Lisa is my own character, I drew her a while back, she has human proportions and I would have uploaded a picture if I only had a (Raises voice) scanner.

Until next time…care to do the honors X?

Catch'ya later kids (customary salutes and teleports away)

(Teleports back) oops, almost forgot

Review, review, review!

(Teleports again)


	10. One Last Face Off

Upon reading my own chapter, I've reached a verdict, it stinks! If you're reading this, do your brains a favor, DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT read this chapter, it's plainly dumb! No fluff here, just mindless action, I needed to close the Slade issue before moving on to the fluffiness. Please do not read it!

-

Replies to reviews

No replies this chapter guys and girls. I've decided to make a 100 reviews special in the next chapter or the one after him…anyway, no more replies until I get 100 reviews! Deal with it!

-

Disclaimer: I don't own the…Bla, Bla, Bla…I mean; I don't own the Teen Titans

-

Chapter Ten: One Last Face Off

-

"Stupid golfarg" Mumbled a shivering Starfire. She was on her way from Titans Tower to the clothing district and the storm that raged outside didn't help her much. She was already soaked with water and the cold winds that blew at the altitude she was flying at made her freeze, every cell in her body screamed that she should come back and put something warm, but she didn't, no matter how cold it was, she had to keep going. "_For Robin_" she thought and increased her speed. To keep herself from constantly thinking of the cold, Starfire let her mind drift away on thoughts of Robin, but every time she tried to remember of his voice, it sounded unlike his, it was distorted, dark, almost mechanical, "_Much like_ _the Red-X's voice_" said her mind. She didn't understand why did she keep remembering his voice, he was not like Robin, he was bad, a criminal and he tried to hurt her. Yet, she felt comfortable when the talked to him at the med-lab, he made her fell wanted, not strange "_Come to think of it, just like Robin did when I came here first_". Starfire's first days on earth came to her memory, she remembered how it felt to move to a new place and know nothing about its culture and ways. Although the titans accepted her with a warm loving attitude, each in their special way, she still felt like the outsider, away from everyone else and it was Robin who made her feel as a friend, not caring about her strange Tamaranian customs.

"And what is this 'pizza', friend Robin?" she inquired, looking at the strange triangular slice

"It's good Starfire, you should try it" he replied and took a bite of his slice. Looking aside, he saw Starfire rubbing the slice against her cheek

"You are correct, it is good" she said, smiling an innocent smile. Robin raised an eyebrow and bottled his laugh. He took a napkin and wiped her cheek

"You're supposed to eat it" he explained kindly. Starfire quickly turned red and took a small bite of her pizza.

"_I fail to understand myself, I already know I love Robin, then why am I having such odd thought about the Red-X?_"

A loud roaring noise released Starfire off her trance, to her bottom right she saw the R-Jet, piloted by none other than Red-X. The young Tamaranian pulled out her communicator and activated it

"Red-X, Robin will not be pleased knowing you were flying his aircraft" she exclaimed

"Fine, look at me, see if I care" he gestured a customary salute towards her and blasted forward towards the clothing district, a trail of white vapor trailing behind the R-Jet's wings. Starfire stopped in midair and sighed

"You are insisting on choosing the hardest way to achieve your goal, why?" she asked herself and kept on flying.

-

The sound of metal crashing against another metal filled Robin's ears; he quickly jumped up to avoid Slade's kick and lightning flashed. Landing when thunder boomed across the skies, The Boy Wonder sent a stream of punches towards Slade's face. The madman blocked then with ease, but was surprised to feel Robin's steel-tipped boot sinking into his stomach. He skidded back on the wet floor and lounged at Robin with his Bo-staff first, the Titan swept low, avoiding the lethal swing. Robin stood up and scanned his field of vision for Slade, lightning flashed and The Boy Wonder saw the shadow of the figure standing behind him, Robin turned and caught Slade's fist with his left hand, but the madman was stronger, Slade twisted Robins arm back, making him give a short painful scream, but he let his guard down, in his own over-confidence he didn't notice the small yellow disc Robin held between his index finger and his middle finger. The flash-bang exploded at Slade's face, blinding him, Slade let out a silent groan and released his grip on Robin's hand, giving Robin enough time to twist into a roundhouse kick, sending it do Slade's head, Slade crashed against the cold wet concrete, creating small fractures in the grey material. He got up and jumped high into the air, coming down with a tremendous diving kick, Robin leaped aside and Slade's blow made yet another crack in the ground. Slade didn't give up; he swung his Bo-staff low, smashing it against Robin's knee. The Boy Wonder shrieked and jumped back on an instinct, kneeling on one leg and rubbing his knee, groaning, he pulled off another jump, avoiding another swing.

"_Offence Robin, offence!_" screamed his mind, but Slade acted faster, he struck Robin down and put his foot on his chest, crushing him against the cold wet cement , inching his Bo-staff towards The Boy Wonder's neck

"A bit clichéd, I know" Slade drew a heavy sigh "But, any last words?" Robin grinned and narrowed his eyes

"Just two, TITANS! GO!" the yellow cord was shot between Slade's legs and Robin bolted between then, locking both his legs around the madman's left leg and hurling him towards the air. The roaring thunder dimmed the sound Robin's legs made as they smashed against Slade's mask, but it didn't numb the soaring pain both fighters felt. Robin stood on top of a small statue, eyes narrowing towards Slade's figure whereas the madman himself just stood before robin, cackling like a jackal

"What's so funny?" asked Robin, muscles flexing, preparing to fend off a sneak attack

"Take a look to your left" said Slade's cold voice, Robin's vision gilded aside to see his teammates losing, badly. A four to six battle under these conditions was not one bit of fair.

-

Blasts of yellow danced along the floor, forcing the six assassins to take a few steps back, the flash of crimson screamed over the group's head and made a wide circle, preparing for another diving run. Cyborg recognized it on the spot, it was the R-Jet, he used that momentary distraction and went on the offensive, bombarding the mercenaries with sonic energy, but the next event caught him unprepared, two lines of green explosions ripped though the pavement, blasting the sex back to a painful meeting with the concrete. On the opposite side, stood a raging Starfire

"You will leave my friends alone!" she demanded, eyes burning green

"Spike, Tina, Topper, take it to the air!" commanded the lead assassin, three of them sprouted black metallic wings and blasted into the cold air with a roar. Two went after Starfire and one followed the R-Jet

"Slowpokes" muttered Red-X as he noticed the stream of bullets appearing under his right wing. He grabbed the stick and pulled it towards him, the aircraft blasted upwards, the winged assassin close behind him. Red-X pulled a complete flip and dove vertically at an insane speed, the mercenary on his tail, shooting his machine guns

"He's like a bad itch!" commented X as the R-Jet took a sudden turn, the flying man was left wondering where has his opponent gone if he hadn't heard the sound of bullets whizzing behind him, he dove down, right into Red-X's awaiting sights. A sharp tone went through the vigilante's ears and a red "Missile Locked" indicator blinked in front of him

"Catch'Ya later kid" he said before slamming his thumb against the red button on top of the stick. The R-Jet recoiled as a single missile was released from under its left wing, heading towards its target. The explosion was spectacular, coloring the grey skies in a shade of orange and red.

-

"Tina, they shot down Spike" went a static voice though one of the assassin's headphones

"We'll go look for her later, meanwhile you'll take the redhead, the Goth is mine" she replied and blasted herself towards Raven, her black long barreled sniper rifle in hand. Looking at Raven eye-to-eye, she raised her rifle and fired off a round

"_So pointless_" thought Raven, encasing the projectile in black energy, making it drop on the floor. The female assassin stared at her and threw the rifle aside, allowing it to fall all the way to the ground. Two blades of glowing blue energy were drawn from her hands and she looked at the half-demon who stared at her opponent's new weapon

"Energy blades? That's new, but let's kick it up a notch" Raven's hands glowed dark, and were replaced by two long dark blades. Under her gas mask, Tina grinned.

"So you know how to draw melee weapons, doesn't mean you know how to use them" she said, chuckling

"You'll be the judge of that" replied Raven and charged

-

"Please. I. mean. You. No. Harm!" uttered Starfire while dodging bursts of flames. Her opponent, named Topper, was apparently a pyromaniac. He shot bursts of flames towards Starfire, from two flamethrowers mounted on his forearms. Again and again, flames lashed towards the young Tamaranian, heating the air around her. Starfire dived down, Topper after her, his flamethrowers roaring fire towards her body. On her way down, Starfire powered up her Star-bolts and turned a hard one-eighty degrees turn, bombarding the air with green energy. Topper swerved violently between the hot bursts of energy, but there were too many of them, one hit his left wing, making it catch fire. The winged assassin was plummeting towards the ground, fast, but his training didn't fail him, the last lesson he learned was that "_If you're going down, take them with you_" he sought out a target and homed in on the R-Jet which was in mid air, flipping to get a good angle on the three assassins still on the ground. Topper bolted towards the jet and closed his eyes, awaiting sweet redemption. Collision, Topper's napalm tanks ignited, creating a huge explosion

"What the…" Red-X didn't finish his sentence when the R-Jut was engulfed with orange and red flames. The explosion was horrible, time stood still for a moment as the fires roared into the black rainy sky, spewing the twisted remains of the R-Jet towards the ground. Starfire gasped with shock, she knew no one could survive that explosion, not even Red-X Looking towards the ground, she saw the black bundle plummeting towards the ground, Red-X's cape. She flew as fast as she could, grabbing his body with both her hands

"Great" muttered a dazed Red-X "Just great"

"What is great?" she asked innocently

"I didn't make it, didn't I?" he asked weakly

"You certainly did" she replied

"Well if I'm not dead, how can I see an angel like you?" (A/N: That was SO LAME! Sorry about that!) He asked softly. Starfire blushed and rushed towards the ground, placing him gently on the wet grass that was near the fight. He laid there, a mixture of green grass and black fabric, groaning

"You will be okay, correct?" she asked, eyes large

"Yeah, takes a lot more than a plane crash to stop Red-X" he replied, groaning once again

"Rest now, I will be back for you soon" she said, flying again towards the battle field.

"I got a score to settle first" he said, getting up and heading after her.

-

A gasping Robin collapsed on the floor, air barely entering his lungs. He breathed deeply, but only little air got in, he tried getting up, but collapsed to the ground, pounding his fist in a small puddle, he raised his head to meet Slade's mask. Robin coughed and flattened on the ground, his face flat in the water, he couldn't breathe "_Boy Wonder drowns to death in a two inch puddle, such a fitting end_" he thought. Slade picked him up by his hair and his mask met Robin's face, The Boy Wonder tried to punch him, but his hand merely dangled forward.

"What have you done to me?!" he demanded, gasping for air

"I believe you are familiar with Curare, correct?" asked Slade, grinning evilly under his mask. Robin's eyes grew wide

"You poisoned me?" asked Robin weakly

"More like you poisoned yourself, Boy Wonder. You see Robin, my suit has been covered with a thin layer of Curare and by attacking me, you inserted it into your body" he explained to Robin who was struggling for each and every breath of air, the lethal poison already making its way to his respiratory system.

"You can feel the poison in your system can't you Robin? Shutting down your muscles, closing on your heart, you can feel your heart slowing down can't you? Beat, beat, beat. It's only a matter of time before it'll stop to Robin, and then, I will win" said Slade coldly. Robin began laughing; it wasn't a normal laugh, or even a hysterical one, it was a maniacal, crazed laughter

"You…have gotta be the biggest loser we've ever encountered" he said, still chuckling. Slade punched his face with his other hand, but Robin was still laughing

"The biggest loser? Perhaps you are mistaking, I just defeated you" mocked the mastermind. Robin barely managed to force a grin on his lips

"One, you couldn't even beat me with your own skills, you always couldn't, not even when you were invincible and two, look behind you" upon hearing these three words, Slade turned his head around, only to face the white skull painted on Red-X's sole. The kick blasted Slade towards the round statue, crashing his back on it, he dropped to the floor.

"You've been X-terminated" hissed Red-X and looked at Robin, who laid on the floor, twitching, gasping for precious oxygen

"You don't look so good kid" commented Red-X, standing over Robin's body

"S…Sec…Second p…pocket…to…to…the left" muttered Robin between one gasp to another. Red-X leaned towards him and pulled a small syringe out of The Boy Wonder's utility belt. He looked at the purple fluid inside and shifted his eyes towards Robin

"Ah, what the heck, you scratched my back, I'll scratch yours" he said while driving the sharp needle into Robin's neck, thrusting the antidote into his main artery. Robin soon began moving. He looked aside and saw Cyborg, Beast Boy and Raven wiping out the rest of the assassins, Lisa and Starfire were far from the group and were discussing something amongst themselves. Starfire gestured her hands forward and Lisa nodded, making Starfire jump up and hug her. She then floated slowly towards Red-X, who was bust fixing his cape

"Um…Red-X?" she said, startling him

"Yeah cutie, what is it?"

"Would…would you like to become a fellow Teen Titan?" she asked hopefully, eyes sparkling

"What?!" screamed Robin, making the young Tamaranian jump up in shock "There is absolutely no way I'll agree-"

"No" replied Red-X coldly, making both Robin and Starfire to turn towards him

"What do you mean 'no'? She just asked you to become a Teen Titan and you refused" raged Robin

"I have my reasons kid"

"Like what?"

"For starters, I told you some people don't like to play hero, and second, I'll never be pushed around by you, _Kid_"

"Oh, so now you're too good for me huh? Is that what you're saying?"

"I said what I needed; you can take it any way you like"

"Doesn't matter, you don't even cut it to be Titan material" said Robin while turning away

"Oh, so now I'm too weak to be a Titan huh?" replied an irritated Red-X

"Yeah, you are"

"So I guess you don't remember who kicked who's butt at the Xenothium vault, right?"

"I do remember, I remember wiping the floor with you until Chang's 'moon-men' arrived"

"You remember wrong kid; those moon-men saved your life"

"Oh yeah? Well who saved you at Chang's observatory?" Red-X's eyes narrowed at Robin's comment

"I didn't need your help, and if there wasn't for me, you'd be a smudge on his-" he raged

"Whatever" interrupted Robin "You wouldn't have lasted as a Titan for even a week" he said, now walking towards the group

"Is that a dare?" replied the thief

"What if it is?"

"Then maybe I'm willing to take it"

"Okay, I'll bet you won't even last for a week as a Teen Titan"

"I'll take that bet"

"Fine, come to the tower so we can discuss your initiation"

"Fine"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!" said Robin, now walking towards the R-Jet "I'll be expecting you in an hour" he closed the canopy and took off, heading towards the tower. The remaining Titans were at a complete state of shock, Raven was the first to snap out of it

"Okay…what on earth just happened?" she asked, rubbing her head

"Beats me" Replied Beast Boy

"No clue" joined Cyborg

"Too fast for me, sugar" said Lisa

"I presume Red-X is now a new member of the Teen Titans?" tried a clueless Starfire, Robin's and Red-X's argument was too fast for the human (Or Tamaranian" mind to comprehend. But it seems as though Red-X was also confused, he just kept standing there, staring into space

"_Out of the frying pan and into the fire I guess_" he thought when his logic took over, already thinking of a way to benefit from this bet, he was surprised by Beast Boy's loud question

"And how the heck are we supposed to get to the tower?!" he cried out

"Well, I guess that pile of scrap metal over there used to be the T-car, the kid took off in his jet. Anyone got some spare change for the bus?" asked Red-X. The remaining five teens stared at him. Immediately, Raven took off, Beast Boy morphed into an eagle and followed her. Cyborg and Lisa crossed their hands and walked away and only Starfire and X remained

"Guess it's just you and me cutie" he said, grinning under his mask

"I am pleased that you have decided to join our team Red-X, but walking all that distance? That would be as you humans say 'a down right waste of time'" she floated slowly and followed Raven and Beast Boy

"_Alone again, what a surprise. Well, bet I'll get there faster than you_" he said to himself and pressed the middle of his belt, teleporting away, leaving a black blur behind him.

-

Slade got up, shaking his head to drive the cob-web away, he looked at his surroundings, he remembered what happened, Robin, and "_Red-X…_" he got up and walked away, mumbling

"Another day Robin…Another day"

Author Notes:

I warned you back at the beginning of the chapter didn't I? , another pointless chapter, this one really sucks, I hate it. Please don't read it, and if you had, erase it out of your memory. I just needed to close all the loose ends with Slade. Next chapter is fluffs-vile, promise! Please review, and don't flame.

Review, Review, Review!


	11. Here To Stay

105 reviews!!! Alright! This is awesome!!!! Get ready people, as promised, the 100 reviews special, this bit will include replies to your reviews for the past two chapters, PLUS the Teen Titans themselves will answer your reviews, personally! But wait! There's more! For a nominal fee of 0$, you'll get to hear Teen Titans video clips! That's right! Fifteen whole minutes of Titan karaoke with guest stars: Slade, Red-X, Killer Moth and the duel of Kitten and Fang! This is very long so if you're not interested, just browse down until you reach the next (-) sign.

The sun rose above Titans Tower, causing a certain Boy Wonder to wake up. He rubbed his eyes and looked at the small sheet of paper in front of him, the square that said Saturday was crossed with a black X and beneath it, the word Reviews. Robin dragged himself off the bed and set off to wake the rest of the team.

"Man, do we have to?" moaned Beast Boy, slowly dragging himself towards the living room

"Yeah, we promised him we'll help with the reviews remember?" growled Robin, glaring at the changeling

"Besides, it'll be cool to see what he wrote about us" added Raven

"I just hope that kid got some skill" said Red-X "And that it was worth waking me up so early on a Saturday"

The four made their way to the Titans' mainframe, where they met Cyborg, Starfire and Lisa

"I thought I told you to start answering the reviews without us!" exclaimed Robin

"That's something I would do, if I knew what his E-mail and password are!" he shouted back. Robin turned red for a second and handed the mechanical man a piece of paper. Cyborg opened it and quickly typed what was written on it (A/N: like I'll actually give you my E-mail/pass)

"Tales of the Closet, this should be interesting" said Red-X, voice dripping with sarcasm

"Shut up" muttered Robin. After a few minutes of intense reading, Beast Boy suddenly cried out

"Hey! I remember these bits!"

"What are you talking about?" asked Raven

"Don't you remember? I couple of months ago, when I we started dating, and Cyborg brought Lisa and Red-X joined us?" Raven seemed to ponder for a few seconds

"He's right" she said

"Okay, okay, can we just go through this?" snapped Robin "We'll reply one review at a turn okay? X, you go first"

"Fine" muttered Red-X and took Cyborg's place, now sitting in front of the screen

**Vampire-Orchid: **Hey, thanks kid, or girl, can't make anything with these online nicknames…anyway, I see you're one of Rave's constant reviewers, so I'll bet your opinion really meant something for him, but again, I'm doing this just 'cause the kid is forcing me. Later

"Oh, I wish to reply to the next reviewer!" exclaimed Starfire, replacing Red-X

"How do I make the bold letters appear?" she asked, Robin hit CtrlB for her

**RavenRobin4ever- **I assume you have read the next chapter, that puts the Red-X along with our team, your wish has came true. I find your name quite odd, why would Raven and Robin come together?

"My turn!" screamed Beast Boy, shoving Starfire off the chair, he sat down and stretched his fingers

**Regrem Erutaerec **Dude, that was so not funny! Dealing with X was hard enough and left us all with sore backs! And besides, I think I am the cutest Titan of them all!

"Care to be next Raven?" he asked

"Whatever" replied the half-demon and took his place

**Digital-DNA** Right…you like E? That's cool; I like B, as in BB

"Okay…that was wired" she said, getting up and allowing Robin to sit down

**Terraskewl-** I hope you liked chapter 10, I found it…interesting….anyway, keep on reviewing, it means a lot to Rave, according to what he told us

"Move over" said Cyborg

**Rose **Pretty long review there, and I don't know how you could like the X/Star, I mean, it's so unnatural, now me and Lisa…that's more like it!

"Is it my turn?" asked Lisa. Cyborg nodded and she took his place

**Max, Slayer-girl and Warprince2000- **Thanks you guys (and girl) Your opinions mean a lot to Rave and he really appreciates your support in him

"You were supposed to just reply to one" hissed Robin

"So I got a little carried away" she said back "X, your turn again"

**Mephisto2022: **Hey, you people like to see me and the cutie together, I knew we were meant for each other, but she and the kid had other things in mind. As I was saying, there's pretty much a lot of Raven/BB in this chapter so feel free to read it!

"Can I do the next one to? I want cutie to reply to a long review" he asked

"Fine, and it's Starfire!" shouted Robin

"Whatever"

**Blaze-Firestorm: **Kinda short, I used to see your reviews were the longest Rave got, make 'em bigger.

"It's all your cutie"

"Starfire!"

"What-Ever, _KID_"

**Rose-** I am pleased you liked my little talk with the Red-X. I will let you know that if you adore the Red-X paired with me, you will like the next chapter called "Questions and Decisions" oops, I have done, what is called "To spoil" correct? Forgive me and forget I have said that please

"Me again!" screamed Beast Boy "Oh man, short reviews, can I just take all four of them?"

"Go ahead" said Raven

**DrakDreams, Terraskewl, Warprince2000 and Stella-S55- **Dudes, longer reviews please! Oh and I got you some answers! Starfire still has confused thought about X, so it's okay to be out in the blank

"You're up Raven"

**CrazyDeafGirl- **No! you can't go! You mean too much to Rave, he told us you're his most loyal reviewer and that you reviewed nearly each and every chapter of his old story. Okay Raven…getting a bit too emotional here…I hope you'll come back to review his chapters again

"Do it Robin"

**Wi ** This is a bit difficult to answer, let me call Rave

"Hello? Can I please talk to RavenOnline? The one who writes the online story. Yeah I'll wait…Hey Rave, I need to ask you something, didn't the R-…uh-ha…yeah...I see…okay, later man"

Okay, he told me he wrote those parts on two different days so he forgot he blew up the R-Jet. And just for the record, I had to take a BUS back to the tower, me Robin! a Bus!

"My turn again!"

**Raven-angst **Loads of people like Raven on this site, why doesn't anyone call himself Cyborg? What did I do to you?! Am I that misunderstood? Anyway, thanks for boosting this review pile to 103, Rave is really happy!

"Wrap it up Lis" he said softly

**Yukigata and B.B Fan-** Thanks for the reviews sugars, loads of BB/Rae on this chapter, enjoy.

Music videos next chapter, you read now! Review later!

-

Disclaimer: me owning the Teen Titans…yeah right

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Chapter Eleven: Here to Stay

-

The cold night air hit Raven's cloak, causing it to flap lightly as she flew towards Titans Tower. Piercing grey clouds, she flew without noticing the green eagle following her, a loud squawk caught her attention and looked to her left, seeing the green bird flying along with her caused a warm buildup inside her stomach, she smiled towards him and again set her eyes forward, still flying home. She felt Beast Boy's wing tip blush against her shoulder and looked at him, seeing he caught her attention, the changeling swooped down, Raven stopped at midair and shrugged "Eh, what the heck" she mumbled to herself and followed him. Touching the ground, she noticed they were at a diner near the bay area; the smell of seawater was in the air and occasional loud foghorn noises accompanied her as she walked towards Beast Boy's figure, which stood near the diner's entrance

"Um…Beast Boy, what are we doing here?" she inquired

"I just wanted to show you something, c'mon"

"But Robin will be-" Beast Boy waved Raven's claim off with a flick of his hand

"Robin will have his hands full, taking care of his whole Red-X issue, now c'mon! Please?" he nudged her a little towards the glass door

"Fine…" she muttered, but on the inside, she was happy that he tried to convince her to come with him. A night in Titans Tower with Robin going haywire about Red-X was not to her liking. The changeling pushed the glass door, causing a small bell on top of it to ring, entering, Raven looked at the place; it was a modest little place, with five red chairs near the counter and more tables near the window, not too many people sat there, an old man eating an omelet, a half empty cup of coffee next to him and two girls sitting and talking, one was crying and the other one placed her arm over her friend's shoulder. Beast Boy and Raven approached the counter and sat down on two of the red tall chairs, as she sat, Raven groaned, catching Beast Boy's attention

"What is it Rae?" he asked in a worried voice

"Nothing, it's just that shot I got earlier, it still hurts when I sit down or get up" she replied. A woman about forty approached them from behind the counter; she was a redhead, with white uniform and a nametag that read Tiffany, she took out the cigarette she had in her mouth and put it out beneath the counter

"Evening, what can I get you?" she asked, her voice was soft, but caught Beast Boy's and Raven's attention

"The usual for me Tiff" replied the changeling

"Do you serve tea?" asked Raven, the waitress looked at her for a second

"I'll go check" she replied and disappeared behind the kitchen's door. She came back a few seconds later, holding a plate with two pieces of coconut cream pie on the one hand and a cup of tea on the other hand

"Here you go" she said while placing down their orders "That'll be-"

"7.35 For the pie and how much for the tea?" completed Beast Boy

"Two dollars hon" she replied, smiling. Raven opened her mouth and was about to say that she didn't have any money on her, but she saw Beast Boy taking out his wallet, handing the waitress a ten dollar bill. The waitress took the bill and left off, to take care of another costumer who came though the door

"I'll pay you pack later" said Raven while sipping on her tea

"No need Rae" he replied, taking a fork load of pie into his mouth "Wonna try some? This place serves a mean pie" he gestured a fork towards her. She took a bite out of the small slice and started humming

"What is it?" asked the changeling

"This is good Beast Boy, thanks" she replied, placing another small bite in her mouth

"Hey Tiff!" yelled Beast Boy, the waitress turned towards him "Another slice of your delicious pie"

"Coming right up hon" she replied, placing another plate in front of him momentarily

"Are you sure it's okay? I wouldn't want to waste your money" said Raven while looking at the plate

"Of course it is!" he leaned towards her and whispered "I usually take three slices a night so dig in" Raven blushed and smiled a little smile at the corner of her mouth. Minutes later, while both Raven and Beast Boy were drinking from small cups of coffee, a question popped into Raven's head; she's been battling that question since, ever since he came to see her when she was sick, that question has been burrowing into her mind, she had to let it out

"Um…Beast Boy?"

"Yeah Rae?"

"There's something I wanted to ask you"

"Good, 'cause there was something I wanted to ask you"

"Go ahead"

"No, you first"

"Nah, you first"

there was a moment of awkward silence between them when they both spoke up

"Would you like to-" they both started, stopping as soon as they heard each other's voice

"What were you saying?" they both asked, blushing

"Nothing" they both replied, Beast Boy seized an opportunity

"Look Rae" he started "Would…would you like to…to…" he gulped and with the spit, came his courage "Would…you like to go out with me tomorrow night?" he asked quickly. Raven was well prepared for that question

"Yes" she said confidently

"Can't you at least think about it? I mean, a friend of mine is working at the cinema and he can set us with a private show of The Ring 2 and I know much you like hor..." his brain finally processed Raven's answer "What did you say?!" he shouted, making every head in the diner turn towards them

"I said yes" she replied

"Can you hold that thought for a second?" he asked, Raven nodded and Beast Boy bolted out of the diner, looking out of the window, Raven saw he was doing a victory dance and singing

"Go Beast Boy, Go Beast Boy, it's your birthday, oh yeah, you got a date. Go Beast Boy, Go Beast Boy, it's your birthday…" he kept on doing that for five minutes and came back to diner, where he was accepted by a wave of applause

"C'mon Rae, let's go home" he said. When they both stepped out of there, something popped into Raven's memory

"When we came here, you said you wanted to show me something, what was it?" she asked

"A good time" he replied and grabbed her palm gently "Did I do well?"

"Yeah, you did" she replied, kissing his cheek "Now let's go, I hope we'll find the tower in one piece when we get there"

"Yeah, let's go" replied Beast Boy. Raven flew off into the cold night air, Beast Boy after her, as a green hawk

-

"So…Tell me again, why aren't we going through the official paperwork now?" asked an impatient Red-X. He, Robin, Starfire, Cyborg and Lisa have been at the tower for fifteen minutes now and all Robin has done was to take out the large pile of papers from the cabinet labeled "New Titan" and place them neatly over a small table

"We'll begin when Raven and Beast Boy come here. This procedure will take place once all the titans are assembled" replied Robin; he was also showing signs of irritation and paced down the living room over and over again, grumbling. Red-X walked towards the center of the room and looked at Cyborg, who was staring at the T.V, watching a car show

"Hey Metal Gear, where's your friend?" asked the vigilante. Cyborg shifted his eyes to watch Red-X and frowned

"Lisa and Starfire are making something in Star's room, I heard it has something to do with your initiation" he replied, shifting his eyes back to the T.V, where a women in her mid20's, dressed in a bikini was gesturing her hands towards a blue Viper with white stripes crossing it from the hood to the rear bumper. Getting bored, Cyborg began to change channels at an inhuman speed, occasionally mumbling "Boring…yawn….been done…"

"Is that a Game-Station XR?" asked Red-X, waking Cyborg from his trance

"Yeah, it is, what of it?" he replied, nearly falling asleep

"Well I just thought we'll play a little game" he answered, jumping on the couch from behind

"What did you have in mind?" asked Cyborg, obviously interested with Red-X's offer

"I don't know…do you have Wipeout XL 2005 here?"

"Duh! Why, are you good at it?"

"I like to think so. Use multiplayer, computer opponents are too weak for your level" suggested X, Cyborg did so

-_Connecting to Wipeout XL 2k5 online system, please wait-_

_-Connection successful. Player one please login-_

_-Welcome $YB0RG. Player two please login-_

_-Welcome Crimson-10. Entering Wipeout XL 2k5 lobby…- _

"Crimson 10? You're Crimson 10? How's that possible?!" cried Cyborg. Under his mask, Red-X grinned, but played it cool on the surface

"Yo Rob! Check it out, Red-X is Crimson 10!" screamed Cyborg

"WHAT?!" roared Robin's voice . he jumped on the couch and landed next to Red-X, grabbing a controller

-_Additional player connecting to game, please login-_

_-Welcome Mocking-Bird. Reentering lobby…-_

"Crimson 10 is one of the best players in the state, it can't be you!" snapped Robin

"I'll let my car do the talking" replied X, causing Robin to grit his teeth

"Dudes, I found us a game, shut up and get ready!" shouted Cyborg. The three leaned back against the couch

"Wait, wait, wait!" Said both Robin and Red-X, getting up, removing their capes and resuming their sitting positions. The futuristic cars laid on the starting line, Cyborg's car was a large hovercraft like car, painted blue and white with missile pods mounted on its sides. Robin's and Red-X's cars looked very alike, small slick cars that resembled a triangle with its sides pulled back and down, but Robin's was colored red and green whereas Red-X's was painted black with a red X on it's left and right

"Sweet paint job X" said Cyborg

"Shut up, game's about to begin" grunted Robin

-_Three, two, one, GO!-_ All the cars started rolling down, picking up speed, but Red-X's just shot in front, leaving a trail of smoke behind it

"Man, how did you do that!?" cried Cyborg while struggling with his controller, trying to maneuver himself to a better position

"All it took was a little tweaking with the Nitro injecting system" replied X. Robin didn't pay attention, he had to win, to prove he's better than X once and for all. His car blasted forward, leaving Cyborg along with the other players behind

"Dude Robin don't do that!" Cried the mechanical man. Soon, an annoying beeping sound could've been heard

"He's locking on me!" said Robin, behind his car, another car swerved violently, a single missile was revealed from its bottom side

"Oh no you don't!" exclaimed Cyborg, his car shot a barrage of rockets from its rocket pods and the car behind Robin's exploded, it was sent to the air, burning.

"Turn left!" screamed X, Cyborg did and a long missile passed by his car's side. X's car spewed led from its front machine guns and another car exploded. X was now maneuvering to get past Cyborg and was turning right

"Thanks for the help X, but don't think that means you can help yourself!" said Cyborg, pushing X's car towards the guard-rail

"Ungrateful little…" mumbled Red-X as he hit the brakes and then blasted from Cyborg's left side. The door opened and Beast Boy and Raven came in. Beast Boy, immediately sensing the presence of a game in progress, ran towards the couch and stared mindlessly at the screen

"You're not getting past me!" cried Robin, preparing to blast X's car out of the race

"Newsflash kid, I'm already one lap ahead of you" he replied

Both Robin's and Red-X's cars were now driving circles around each other while trying to cross the finish line, each trying to get a good shot at the other when a blue car with black and white lightning on its side passed between them

"What the…" pondered Robin

"Get him!" screamed Red-X. Both Robin and he shot their cars forward, their machine guns roaring, but it was too late, the car crossed the finish line, followed by Red-X's. Robin and Cyborg completed their last lap and the game was over

_-#1: H-2-Dude #2: Crimson-10 #3: Mocking-bird-_

_-Best driving: Mocking-Bird, Fastest Car: H-2-Dude, Best Cornering: KingModdie, Demolitions: $YB0RG, Best Lap: Crimson-10, Best Kill: Crimson-10 –_

-

Wiping the sweat off his forehead, Aqualad, got up and did a victory dance in his small room in Atlantis. He stopped and threw a dart at a paper sheet that said "Crimson-10"

"Another one bites the dust" he said to himself

-

"Good, you're here, now we can finally get this thing over with" said Robin while addressing the pile of papers. Red-X's eye slits were as wide as coffee mugs when he saw the large pile of documents

"Hey kid, look, I'd love to finish this right now, but-" he drew a long mechanical yawn "I'm really not in the mood for signing ten tons of paper at one A.M, besides, it's been a long day, can't we do it in the morning?"

"He's right Rob, we all need some shut eye" said Cyborg

"Which brings me to the next subject, where is he going to sleep?" asked Robin

"Well the flu thing is gone for good, we can all sleep in our rooms again, but Lisa gets Terra's room" replied Cyborg

"Well X, it looks like you have two options: sleep on the couch or with Beast Boy, he's got a two bonk bed" Red-X glanced at Beast Boy who immediately smiled and waved towards him

"Do you snore?" he asked, Beast Boy shook his head no "_Much_" he thought

"Well, guess I found my room" he replied, walking towards Beast Boy's room when Starfire stormed out of her room and stopped him

"What is it?" he asked

"Well I…I…You see…I kind of made this for you" she handed him a communicator that had a red X like the one oh his chest, branded across the white T

"Thanks cutie, thanks a lot" he said, slapping the small device on the right side of his belt.

"Hey X!" said a voice behind him, he turned around and caught something in his hand, opening it, he found a metal slide with the word RED-X branded into it

"I know it's a bit premature, but when we'll get you a room, just put this on your door" said Robin. Red-X didn't know what to do, he was well prepared to reply to anger, spiky comments, sarcasm and death threats, but kindness was his weak spot

"Um…thanks?" he said

"I know it's still unofficial and all…but welcome to the team" said Robin and shook his hand. There was a moment of silence, but it was interrupted by Beast Boy's yawn

"I'm out of here, you coming X?"

"Yeah" the Titans split up, each heading for his or hers room.

-

"Good night Robin" said Starfire and placed a teddy bear who had a green and red outfit and a black eye mask next to her

"Good night Starfire" she said to herself, trying to make herself sound like Robin, she closed her eyes, only to open them seconds later

"I have almost forgot about you" she said, placing another teddy bear next to her, its fur was painted black and it had an X on his chest and on his skull shaped mask

"Good night to you to, Red-X"

"Night cutie" she answered herself, trying to imitate Red-X's distorted voice. Starfire put the two bears in her arms and fell asleep, covered in her pink blanket

-

"Lockdown initiated, night ya'll" said Cyborg who just finished the security check. He walked into his room and plugged himself to his systems recharger, shutting himself down as he did so

-

Raven wandered towards her closet, searching for a proper outfit for her date tomorrow. She searched aimlessly, not knowing what to wear; she's never been on a date before

"_No sweat Raven, we'll be with you all the way_" said a voice in her head

"_Yeah! It'll be fun!_" added a giggling voice

"_Show me some courage girl, you can do it!_"

"_Thanks you guys_" answered Raven mentally, dropping on her bed, she tucked herself in and fell asleep, humming "I got a date…I got a date…"

-

Both Lisa and Robin were doing the same thing, sorting though their weapons, each loading another explosive disc, or another round into the magazine, it helped them think, it a way of some sort, clearing their mind, they both laid down on their beds, looking at the ceiling, searching for an invisible figure. Lisa was the first to fall asleep, and Robin was soon to follow.

-

"When you said your bed is small, it's not exactly what I had in mind" complained Red-X. Beast Boy's bed suited the changeling perfectly, but for X it was a nightmare. He laid there, the bed only reaching close to his knees, legs dangling from the other side of the bed. It took him a while to fall asleep, but it was worth it, under the mask was a little smile, notifying he was dreaming about a certain 'cutie'

Author Notes:

Jeez…that was one loooong chapter…glad the Titans helped me with it though. Did you like it? I hope you did, Review and let your opinion make a difference, 'cause I really change my story according to my readers' whims…sometimes.

Oh and one last thing!  
Review. Review. Review!


	12. Questions and Decisions

I know I promised you some music videos this chapter, but, due to unexpected turns of events, they will be included next time, along with…can you guess it? More of the Titans replying to your reviews. Just to be clear, I talked to them and they LOVED it, yes, even Raven and Red-X. When you review this chapter, please write who of the titans do you want to reply to your review, just to make things easier for me. I'll have replies to reviews every two chapters so next chapter is titans replies and music videos

-

Disclaimer: last week I rented a high priced lawyer to help me own the Teen Titans, but he refused so I still don't own them.

-

Chapter Twelve: Questions and Decisions

-

Early morning, maybe five thirty or six A.M, the sun is lazily rising over Titans' Tower, its light slowly casting away the shadow that engulfs the T shaped tower. Inside it, all the Titans are sleeping soundly, that is, until they were woken up by a blinding one thousand volts flash of light

-

"Lieutenant Commander Lisa Valentine reporting for duty SIR!" exclaimed Lisa as she shot from her bed to a standard military tension standing (A/N: that "Ten-HOOT!" thing, I don't know how it's called)

-

"I didn't take the bat-mobile for a cruise last night, Bat-Girl's lying!" shouted Robin as he fell off his bed, his cape covering him

-

"It wasn't me!" screamed both Beast Boy and Red-X. The sudden blast of light made Red-X roll for cover, but he didn't remember where he was laying and as a result, Beast Boy looked down on the floor and saw a groaning Red-X

"Are mornings always so fun around here?" he asked while getting on his feet

"Nah, sometimes Raven wakes up with a bad mood, that's where it really gets good" replied the changeling. Red-X groaned and started making his way to the living room, where he met the other titans; a quick glance over them told him that they were also caught by surprise by the light flash

"Anyone cares to explain to me what that was?" asked Raven, she was already wearing her combat uniform and was at the kitchen, poring hot water to a cup in front of her

"Yes, please, tell me why we were woken up in such a horrible manner?" added Starfire, still wearing her "Yum, Yum, Bubblegum" pajamas, a pink shirt and a pair of pink pants with the "Yum, Yum, Bubblegum" logo in the middle of the shirt.

"Well, when Mayor Fisher told me he installed a new alarm clock system, I thought he just added a radio feature" replied Robin, still rubbing the back of his head

"Well I think it was a good idea waking us up in this hour, we'll enlist Red-X right now and save more time around the day for that new training session you wanted to test" commented Cyborg, already placing four stripes of bacon in the sizzling frying pan

"I agree with Cy, what do you think B?" asked Lisa

"It's too early to think! I wonna go back to sleep!" screamed Beast Boy, throwing himself on the couch.

"C'mon X, let's get this over with" said Robin and walked to the middle of the living room, X following him.

"Place your hand here" said Robin while pointing at a black rectangle. X did so and raised his other hand

"I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth though help me G- what?" he asked Robin who in response raised an eyebrow

"It was just a fingerprint scan for the Titans' lockdown system" replied Robin

"I…I knew that….moving on"

"Right…name?"

"Red-X"

"Age?"

"Eighteen and a half"

"Powers?"  
"You should know, you built the suit"

"Right. Why do you want to join the Teen Titans?"

"'Cause I don't got anything better to do"

"To help fight evil and serve mankind…" hummed Robin "Okay, now all we have to do is let the computer fill out these forms so the whole legal issue will be sorted out. But you're now an official Teen Titan" he shook X's hand

"Now we got another problem in our hands" said Red-X

"And what's that?" asked a half awaken Beast Boy

"This" said the vigilante, pointing at his belt "I need Xenothium to keep the suit operational and I don't think you'll let me steal some every once in a month"

"Don't worry about that" said Robin, padding X on the shoulder "I made a deal with the "Trek Industries" manager, I explained to him that it'll be much more cost-effective to give you some Xenothium each month rather than having you stealing form them while destroying their security systems" X chuckled his mechanical laughter

"If you ever fail at being a superhero, you have an assured job as a politician" he said, making the other titans laugh a bit

"C'mon you guys, breakfast time" said Lisa, pointing at an already set table. The male titans stormed at the table and took their seats.

"How're you going to eat with your mask on?" asked Starfire while putting a slice of egg into her mouth

"Like this" said X, he put his cup of coffee on top of his plate, held on to it with one hand and with the other hand, pressed the center of his belt, vanishing into a black blur. He teleported back fifteen minutes later, holding a clean plate

"I gotta hand it to ya metal head, you cook up some mean bacon" said X while slapping on more stripes of bacon on his plate

"Thanks" he replied

-

"Whose turn is it to do the dishes?" asked Cyborg. In response, Beast Boy sprayed soy milk all over the titans who sat in front of him

"I think you got your answer" replied Robin, wiping his face with his hand.

"Robin, I wish to begin the new training session" said Starfire, causing all the people present to stare at her

"Good idea Star. Titans, assemble at the training course in five minutes" ordered Robin. The rest of the titans scrambled towards the exit door, except Beast Boy, who was still trying to make himself look he was doing the dishes

"You got away from today's session, but you'll have double duty next time" hisses Robin as he closed the door behind him. The changeling let out a sigh and dropped on the couch, grabbing a Game Station controller and turning on "Mega Monkeys 4: Redemption"

"Sweet gaming experience, here I come" he said to himself

-

Warm air greeted the titans as they walked towards the newly reformed training course; a long patch of naked ground, only brown dirt, some rocks and the control panel.

"Star, Raven, go man the controls" said Robin, the two complied and soon stood in the little control box

"So what's new about this session Rob?" asked Cyborg

"Well, a few days ago it came to me that we're practicing a little too more with our powers; we need some physical training, so I decided to have each of us train on his strong suit. Star and Raven will practice airborne assaults and sneak attacks, Cyborg and Lisa need to work out on strength and accuracy and Beast Boy and I were supposed to have an obstacle course, but since B is out for dishes…" he turned towards Red-X "It'll be you and me"

"Wouldn't have it any other way" he replied. Starfire flicked a switch and the patch of ground was replaced by an obstacle course consisting of a 25 meters swimming pool, followed by a 60 meters sprint, a barbed wire crossing, a beam walk, rope swing and a climbing wall.

"Don't worry kid, I'll wait for you at the finish line" said Red-X

"You'll be eating my dust all the way" replied the boy wonder

"Relax you two, it's just a stupid practice session" said Raven

"She's right you know" noted X

"Yeah, and besides, winning isn't everything"

"It's just the only thing that really matters" completed X. The two walked towards the starting line, both removing their capes and belts

"Fair play?" asked Robin

"Fair play" replied X. the countdown started

_Five_

They both leaned forward, one hand touching the ground

_Four_

Glanced were exchanged, each staring at the other

_Three_

Eyes narrowing to slits, looks shifting forward

_Two_

Muscles flexing, blood rushing faster and faster through the body

_One_

Adrenaline is pumping through the veins, heart racing

_Go!_

They both bolted forward, running at inhuman speeds, both leaping into the cold water, cutting through it like an aircraft cuts through the air, they started swimming, stroke by stroke, making their way to the other edge. Sprinting, Robin had the advantage; Red-X was a bit behind, still running at top speed, but a few inches behind The Boy Wonder. Without second thoughts, he leaped forward, diving below the barbed wire and missing it by a few millimeters; he gained a small lead over Robin as he continued to crawl under the metal wires. Reaching the end, X got up and raced across the beam, still ahead of Robin, he reached wooden platform and jumped towards the rope, but the winds of fortune blew in the other way, literally, a slight breeze pushed the rope out of X's reach and he fell face first into the mud pit below. Robin on the other hand, swung across the pit with success, now running across the next platform towards the climbing wall, he didn't notice the fact that Red-X was still running under the platform, still intending to beat Robin. reaching the climbing wall, X jumped up, leaping from one bump in the wall to another, heading upwards, he leveled with Robin and climbed much like The Boy Wonder himself, with insane speed, they both reached the top and jumped down, once again sprinting towards the finish line, only 100 meters away. Still at top speed, Robin noticed Red-X's arms were a bit ahead of his, so he ran faster, pushing his body over the limits, he had to beat him, to prove once and for all that he is better than Red-X

"_You are NOT losing to this kid_" screamed X's brain, forcing him to speed up even further, he closed the already small gap between himself and Robin. The finish line was inches away and time seemed to slow down; seconds becoming hours, both runners gave one last burst of energy. The buzzer went off, announcing someone crossed the finish line. They both skidded to a halt and ran towards the control box to check their times

"What?!" roared Robin

"No way" added X. The green timer beeped, two lines appearing and reappearing

Robin: 43.011 secs

Red-X: 43.011 secs

"It seems you are equally matched" said Starfire. Both Robin and Red-X looked at each other, eyes narrowing down to thin slits in their masks, when all of a sudden, Robin extended his right arm forward

"You gave one heck of a fight X"

"You're not so bad yourself kid" replied the vigilante

"One more thing, can you please stop calling me kid?"

"I can sure try ki-…ern…Robin"

"There, was that so hard?"

"Unbelievably hard"

-

Noon, the titans finished their daily training routine and were in the living room, groaning with aches. It was hot, way too hot, by now; Robin has turned to his room, to work on new leads associated with Slade, Starfire was nowhere to be found and the rest of the titans were still at the living room, laying on the couch, on the two armchairs or just sitting at the floor. Beast Boy wiped his face with a wash cloth and threw it carelessly behind him. The sweat soaked rag landed on Cyborg's face, the android peeled the rag off his face and threw it to his left

"That's the stuff…" moaned Red-X. Beast Boy, Cyborg, Raven and Lisa shifted their eyes towards him; he was laying on the left armchair, his upper body tilted back a bit and the green piece of cloth on his face

"X, you do realize you have Beast Boy sweat on your face" noted Raven while stretching her body, trying to deplete the heat buildup

"Desperate times call for desperate means" replied the vigilante. He got up and headed towards the door, throwing his belt casually over his shoulder

"Where're you going dude?" asked Beast Boy

"To hose myself down outside, you coming?" he replied

"Oh, you know it" answered Cyborg, getting up and nudging Lisa to join him. The female android got up and followed Cyborg. Red-X opened the main door and was blown back by an orange flash

"Star's home" noted Beast Boy, motioning Raven to join them outside. The half-demon raised her eyes out of her book towards him

"Whatever" she said monotonously and followed.

-

Silence ruled the space of the small investigation room; inside it, sat Robin, working on his computer, he was trying to make a connection between several leads that were given to him by Jump City's commando unit; it appears that during their last raid they may have uncovered vital clues related to Slade's true identity. He wasn't even bothered when the door shattered to bits and a very excited Starfire entered the room

"Robin, I come bearing joyous news!" she exclaimed

"Hmm…?" he replied, eyes still fixed on the small screen

"Well, I was at the store of convenience, looking for the yellow beverage by the name of mustard in order to purchase it but when I came to the register of cash, a robber appeared and attempted to rob an old man"

"Really…?" hummed Robin, obviously not interested

"Yes, after I saved the old man, he was most grateful and introduced himself as the owner of the park of amusement-" she noticed the far away look in his eyes "And talked to a fiery fellow Martian"

"That's really interesting" he replied, pounding they keys relentlessly

"And on my way back, I saw Slade"

"You saw Slade? Where?" shouted Robin, nearly blowing Starfire back

"I did not; I just wanted to turn your attention towards me. You have not been listening to me!" she frowned, it was unusual for Robin to see her that way, he knew he did something wrong

"Of course I have!" he said defensively "You went to the wall-mart to buy some mustard and saved Mr. Cooper who owns the amusement park, carry on"

"Mr. Cooper had given me two tickets for the amusement park, due tonight, will you come with me?" she asked, her eyes big and sparkling with joy

"Can't" he replied coldly, Starfire's front broke down, her eyes lost their sparkle "I need to talk to Tom Kazansky, the leader of the Jump City commandos, he said he got some new leads about Slade" when Starfire heard the last word, something snapped inside of her, her eyes welled up with tears and she snuffled

"You…you are acting as if Slade is more important to you than the team, than me" she said, sniffling once again

"Don't be silly" said Robin, getting up from his seat and walking towards her, holding her hand "It's just that I'm so close to taking him down, it's so close I can almost taste it. I'll go with you next time, why won't you go out with Raven or Lisa?"

"Oh, I shall go with someone else alright" she replied. Robin let go of her arm and she trailed off towards the living Room, where she found Beast Boy and Raven; the changeling was drying his hair with a white towel and Raven was trying to read a book. They were both dressed in their swimsuits, which caused Beast Boy to occasionally stare at Raven's figure, shifting his eyes every time he caught the glare she shot towards him. She approached them

"Friends Beast Boy and Raven, perhaps you have seen the Red-X?"

-

X was in Beast Boy's room, laying on the floor and tossing a ball of red matter towards the ceiling, catching it with his hand as it came down, and throwing it again. The door swung open and Starfire entered the room. Red-X immediately stopped throwing the ball and turned towards her

"Cutie, what a sight for sore eyes, what brings you here?" asked his distorted voice, Starfire seemed nervous when she entered the room and was even more nervous when he talked to her

"N…nothing…I was just wondering if you have any plans made for tonight"

"Not yet cutie, why?"

"Well, I was wondering if you'd like to accompany me to the amusement park tonight"

"Can't refuse to an offer from a beautiful woman; meet you at the park at ten?"

"Yes, I will meet you there" she said and left the room. X laid on the floor again, arms stretched behind his head

"You still got that old charm" he said to himself

Author Notes

_Hello, hello, my place go vertigo…_whoops…wrong end of the story. Anyway, did you like it? Sure hope you did, it took me a while to work on it. As you can this was just a plot-ish chappie so no fluff was included. Next chapter: the titans go on their dates. Will Raven and BB tighten the bond between them? Will Starfire finally fall for Red-X's charm? Will Cyborg and Lisa become more than just friends? And how the heck will Robin spend an entire evening alone? All the answers and more on the next chapter of Tales of the Closet.


	13. No Turning Back

Here they come folks, the Teen Titans music videos! Then, depending on whether the titans have enough juice to keep going, they'll reply to your reviews.

Author Note: this is going to get really long so get ready. I've marked the beginning of chapter thirteen with a () sign.

"Quiet! Quiet on the set!" screamed a tiny French director (A/N: yes, the one from my last story's outtakes) he stomped on the floor with anger and hopped back to his seat, putting on a pair of black sunglasses and holding a short black stick in his hand. In the middle of the room was a small stage on which Beast Boy and Raven were standing, looking all around helpless

"Uh…that was my bad right?" asked an uncertain Beast Boy, holding to a microphone with a shaking hand

"Yes it was!" screamed the tiny director and jumped off his seat, stomping towards the stage. A props-man tossed a chair in front of the changeling and the director jumped on it, reaching the proper height to grab Beast Boy by the collar

"This song, it is true, you Americans are idiots!"

"Okay, Okay! I'm sorry!" screamed Beast Boy with panic. The director, though small was strong both physically and mentally. Off stage, sitting on black chairs, the Titans were having a real hard time not laughing and to make things worse, Red-X got off his seat, knelt down and grabbed Starfire by the collar, shaking her gently, mumbling in an incoherent tongue. Robin and Cyborg let out a small giggle, trying to bottle their laughter, and then burst into hysterics. The director, head red with rage turned towards them and screamed

"You, the one with the uh…how do you say….attitude, what do you find funny here?"

"Well, just about….everything" replied X, sitting down

"Oh no you don't" said the director and grabbed him by the arm "You'll be the first to sing". X's eye slits widened, but soon narrowed down

"Fine, you asked for it" he said with a venomous tone and climbed up stage, taking Raven's microphone and throwing it to Robin off-stage.

"Count me down" he said. Beast Boy and Robin exchanged glances. But as soon as the first notes of the music started playing, they knew what he meant.

"Uno, dos, tres, catorce" counted the Boy Wonder  
"Turn it up loud, captain" said Beast Boy, trying to sound as Irish as possible. X took over

Lights go down  
It's dark, the jungle is  
Your head can't rule your heart  
I'm feeling so much stronger  
Than I thought  
Your eyes are wide  
And though your soul  
It can't be bought  
Your mind can wander

Hello, hello  
"Hola!" both Robin and Beast Boy screamed  
I'm at a place called Vertigo  
"Dond' esta!"  
It's everything I wish I didn't know  
Except you give me something I can feel  
Feel

The night is full of holes  
These bullets rip the sky  
Of ink with gold  
They twinkle  
As the boys play rock and roll  
They know that they can't dance  
At least they know

I can sell the beats  
I'm asking for the check  
Girl with crimson nails  
Has Jesus 'round the neck  
Swinging to the music  
Swinging to the music

Hello, hello  
"Hola!"  
I'm at a place called Vertigo  
"Dond' esta!"  
It's everything I wish I didn't know  
But you give me something I can feel  
Feel

Shot dead  
Shots fall  
Show me, yeah

X approached Starfire and knelt before her, holding her palm with his left hand and the microphone with the right one

All of this, all of this can be yours  
All of this, all of this can be yours  
All of this, all of this can be yours  
Just give me what I want  
And no one gets hurt

He jumped back on stage

Hello, hello  
"Hola!"  
We're at a place called Vertigo  
"Dond' esta!"  
Lights go down and all I know   
Is that you give me something  
I can feel your love teaching me how  
Your love is teaching me how  
How to kneel  
Kneel

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah  
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah  
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah  
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

X stepped off stage to the cheering voices of his fellow Titans. The director on the other hand, looked like he was about to explode

"We'll be back here tomorrow to record the next song, don't worry" said X, making the tiny man even angrier

"Man, he almost exploded back there" said Cyborg while turning on the computer

"Yeah, but he deserved it. Nicely done X" added Raven

Look at all of those reviews!" exclaimed Robin. The titans faced the screen and gasped in shock

"Dude, he got like, 30 reviews since last time" said Beast Boy

"So what, you enjoyed answering them last time" shot Raven, sitting down on the green chair

**Darkest Midnight-** read chapter 9 again. While we were battling the Slade-Bots I got shot in the stomach. This is your first review on Rave's story right? Hope to see more of those

"Lemme do the next one!" shouted Beast Boy

"Take a number" replied X and took Raven's seat

**Blaze-Firestorm**- hey, you took my advice, your review is longer. I hoped they wouldn't unmask me, but reality had a different idea. Wait for chapter fourteen to see what I was talking about

"Is it my turn now?" asked an irritated Beast Boy. Red-X nodded

**Digital-D.N.A**- cool nickname dude! Back when these things happened, I also wished I wasn't dreaming so I know how you feel. Anyway, read now, review later!

"I wish to review now" said Starfire

**Yukigata-** in my opinion this was not the same restaurant that friend Beast Boy had taken Terra to. They restaurant they went to was on the pier while Terra's restaurant was somewhere out of town if memory serves correctly

"Um, star? It's my turn" said Robin. The young Tamaranian scratched the back of her head and giggled, allowing him to sit down

**Mephisto2022-** I don't get it, why do you people care so much about X? I mean, I created him for Pete's sake!

Cyborg picked Robin by his cape and placed him on the floor, sitting down; he saw Steve-Racer's review and the blood rushed to his head

**Steve-Racer-**you're right, someone should KILL that aquatic menace, I mean, I know he helped us to fight against Trident and all, but he beat me, Robin and X so yeah, by all means, destroy him!

"Yo Lisa!" he cried. The female android, currently examining her weapons, looked up to him with questioning eyes "It's your turn!" Lisa walked up towards the chair, leaving two machine guns and a belt fed machine gun on the floor. Beast Boy quickly rushed towards the weapons and began inspecting them

**Hopeless474-** man, what kind of a depressing name is that? There's always hope. I have to admit, the dining scene was funny, but if you want to see some real funny, check this chapter and one that follows.

"Lemme do another one" asked Beast Boy

"Fine" muttered Red-X "as long as I get to do the next one" the changeling nodded

**RavenRobin4ever- **Dude, I don't get it, why do you people have with odd pairings? I mean, Raven and Robin? Why should she settle for bird boy when she got me? and besides, we love Cy to!

Beast Boy finished his writing and was blown of the seat by Red-X

**Rose- **When you're talking smack, you better have someone to back you up. Lucky for you I'm such a generous guy _Yeah Right _. As I was saying, I've been doing some reading, but I couldn't find any Star/X fictions, maybe you know some and can tell me their names? Back to your review, don't worry, you got X covering you

"Raven wrap this chapter up, I want to start the special reviews tonight" said Robin. Raven nodded in agreement

**MonkeyNinja-** We already asked you for longer reviews last chapter remember? Anyway, thanks for the constructive review

**CrazyDeafGirl-** Hey, I thought you said you quit or something didn't you? Well, anyway, I'm sure Rave is pretty glad you changed your mind

**Warprince2000**- that's it, I'm telling Rave to get an anti Copy/Paste warrant against you.

**B.B Fan**- As a wise man once said: The costumer (Or reviewer) is always right

"Okay team, we made it, personal reviews page" said Robin. The Titans inspected the page, examining the first review, they let Robin have it

**Darkest-Midnight-** why are you calling me an a# hole?(A/N: Sorry folks, censorship) It's not like I did anything wrong! Jeez, is it so wrong to have disorganized priorities?

"Okay Star, this one wants you" said the Boy wonder

**Hopeless474- **thank you for choosing me to reply to your review dear friend who thinks thoughts of hopelessness! Worry not about my predicament, the one who is called Rave has updated once more!

"That's it, I'm skipping his review" said Raven, but Beast Boy quickly rushed to the green chair

**Blaze-Firestorm- **you have absolutely NO IDEA how pissed did he get! To get s taste of it, read chapter 14!

"Is it my turn now?" asked Raven dully. Beast Boy looked at her for a second and cleared the seat

**Tracker-** If memory serves, I don't recall any party, but who knows, maybe Rave will change some details, watch chapter 14 and you'll know

Red-X inspected the next review and sighed

"And I thought that girl had spunk, who on earth get scared by a stupid horror movie anyway?"

"Did you even see The Ring?" inquired Robin

"I saw lots of horror flicks, tell me which one"

"You know…" said Robin, trying to make himself sound like a little girl "Seven days…" X nearly jumped out of his suit when he heads those two words

"Don't ever do that again! That movie creped the heck out of me!" he exclaimed

"I know what you mean X" replied the Boy Wonder

**Rose- **Don't worry, you'll get over it, it took me eight days to do it, how long will it take you?

**Yukigata- **(If you look up, Starfire replied to your review, I'm sorry, just a bit tired)

**RavenRobin4ever-**(same as the above, sorry, I got a huge math test tomorrow and I can't reply to double short reviews, besides, I already replied to your reviews up there)

"I want to reply!" exclaimed Beast Boy

**Raven-Angst-** Between the two of us, I was the one who told him to use that line… thanks!

"Hey, check it out dudes! Someone asked for me to reply!" said Cyborg

"Big whoof" said Both Robin and Beast Boy

**CrazyDeafGirl-** what to say…what to say….great, someone asks me to reply personally and I got nothing to say. Let's start with thanks, and see where next chapter will take us okay?

**Critic123- **thanks to you to

**StarfireFowl13-** I don't think it's humanly possible for Robin not to be obsessed with something, don't get your hopes up girl.

"Hey, check it out Rae, they want you to reply to" he said while getting up

"What?" said the half demon in disbelief "Whoa, you weren't bluffing"

**Mephisto2022-**you're right, there isn't enough me on-screen, I better talk to Rave about this and we'll see what he can do, but in the meantime, enjoy chapter thirteen

Beast Boy inspected the last review and nearly jumped out of his skin

"They wanted me! Oh yeah! I rock!"

**Romantic-Raven-** Hey check it out, you're name is like mine! BB and RR! Too bad I already got a Raven right? If you liked the early chapters, I just want you to know that the late chapters will get better and better

Chapter Thirteen: No Turning Back

-

Disclaimer: It's three A.M and I still don't own the Teen Titans!

-

Evening, the sun had already set down in the west. Jump City's streets seemed to have forgotten that darkness and quiet should be the reigns of the night; they were well lit, with people walking on the streets, couples, families, groups of both teens and adults and individuals who roamed the streets by themselves. Titans Tower was also lit; a large T glowing in the pitch black of the pear. Used both as the residential place for the Teen Titans and as a lighthouse to warn stray ships of the jagged rocks.

-

"Dude, I look like a freak show!" exclaimed a petrified Beast Boy. He stood in front of the bathroom's mirror, wearing a tacky tuxedo, trying to helplessly arrange his messed up hair, he tried combing it down and it came back up, he tried using hair gel but that only made his hair look greasy, sparkling green. He pulled his hair with frustration and slammed his head against the wall, tears wailing in his eyes

"Nothing can un-mess my hair, dude, this is so hopeless!" he shouted blankly

"Well taking it out on the sink won't do you much good either" came a distorted reply. The changeling shot up, fully tensed

"X, where are you? Show yourself dude!" he exclaimed. A mechanical sigh was drawn

"Maybe in the shower?" said the vigilante dully. Beast Boy looked to his side and saw Red-X's suit tossed over a chair, except his mask. He suddenly heard the sound of the water running.

"So, what's your problem?" asked Red-X, catching Beast Boy's attention

"Nothing"

"Oh, so you like whacking your head against marvel sinks for kicks right?" X chuckled

"Well I…I…"

"Look" started Red-X, sighing "As much as I hate admitting it, I'm part of a team now, and according to what I've seen, you got that whole 'stick together' thing really based down, so spill, and throw me a towel while you're at it" Beast Boy complied, handing X a white towel

"See, I got this date tonight, and-"

"Woman trouble huh?" interrupted the vigilante "Who's the lucky lady?" he reached out through the steam and grabbed his suit, pulling it into the shower

"What difference does it make?" asked Beast Boy

"Just curious" he replied, stepping out of the shower and examining the shape shifter "Tux and all? She must be really special"

"She is" he replied in a dreamy voice, thinking of his sweetheart, his sweet Raven

"Hey…Hey focus!" said X, snapping his fingers in front of Beast Boy. The changeling woke from his trance

"So what's wrong anyway?" he asked. Beast Boy pointed at his hair

"Have you heard of hair gel?" asked the vigilante sarcastically. In response, the shape shifter frowned and slapped a decent dose of hair gel on his head, but it came back to its normal position

"See?" he shouted. Red-X seemed pondered for a second

"Look, I know what the solution to your problem is, but it'll stay locked tight between you, me and Robin, clear?"

"What does Robin has to do with it?"

"He uses this trick too, so I got your word right?"

"Yeah"

"Good, wait here" Red-X teleported and came back seconds later, holding a vile of glowing red matter

"Is that…?" started the changeling

"Yeah"

"And you're gonna…?"

Sure am"

"And you're sure that's…?"

"Yep"

"Well what are you waiting for?" Beast Boy nudged X and he let several drops of the unstable chemical (A/N: to those of you who didn't get it so far, it's Xenothium) into Beast Boy's hair gel container. A chemical reaction occurred, the Xenothium's molecules merged with the gel's in an instant and the matter started taking a new form, it seemed more solid and was red

"Slap some on" said Red-X. Beast Boy did so, and was soon facing himself in the mirror, only his hair looked different; it looked just like Robin's

"Dude, I look-" exclaimed Beast Boy

"X-cellent" replied the vigilante. The changeling bolted out of the bathroom, leaving X to stand in front of the mirror alone. He crossed his arms over his chest, looked at himself for a few seconds, then waved his mirror image off with his hand and teleported away

-

Nevermore has never been so busy in Raven's life, emotions ran like maniacs all over the place, screaming in an incoherent language

"Timid, go that way, Happy, Excited called and said she needs you, go there, Valor, we need you down here and Anger" the red cloaked emotion turned towards Bossy "Take a hike!" Anger turned to leave when a tearing sound caught the attention of all the emotions present; a red rift formed on the ground and suddenly, Raven's entire room appeared. Happy, being herself, skipped towards Raven and jumped on her

"Raven! You're here, what're you doing here did you come to hi? Well hi, hi, hi!"

"Get off me!" hissed the half demon, pealing Happy off her and walking towards Smart

"You'll have to forgive Happy, she's a bit psyched up about the d-a-t-e" explained Smart. To her left, Happy stretched four of her fingers and was mumbling to herself

"D…a…t…oh! You're talking about the date!" she started skipping around, her pink cloak trailing behind her. Both Raven and Smart slapped their foreheads

"I knew I shouldn't have taught her how to spell" said Smart

"I'm surrounded by idiots" exclaimed Raven and sighed. Walking towards Bossy, she took the emotion's megaphone and screamed at the top of her lungs

"Shut—UP!" all the emotions present stood still and stared wide eyed at Raven

"Good, now that I got your attention, I need Trendy, Happy, Valor, Modest and Smart to come with me. The rest of you, go play jump rope or something" rumbling again; the emotions scattered to every corner of nevermore, except the five emotions Raven asked to stay. They were about to turn to her room when a terrifying scream caught their attention. Turning around, they saw the eighteen Ft. figure forming in front of them

"Not now, please not now" groaned Raven at the figure. Trigon stared at Raven with flaming fury in his eyes

"Hatred shall-" he started

"STOP!!!" shouted Raven. Trigon was taken aback, he never saw such rage in his daughter's eyes, and this was the time he has been waiting for. He shot Raven with his eye beams, but was surprised to see a black sphere deflecting the beams, making them scorch the ground around his daughter

"_I can't let him set me back, not today_" she thought, letting her defenses down, she felt the surge of dark energy cruising through her body, increasing her power. She grew huge, about 15 Ft. eyes glowing menacingly red and a devilish grin on her lips.

"Raven, so good to see you again" said her father's deep voice

"Wish I could say the same" she replied sharply

"Stop, you're breaking my heart" he said, placing his right hand on the left portion of his chest mockingly

"As if you have one" she replied. Every cell of her body screamed to fight him, but she held back, even at her demon form, she remembered why she arrived at nevermore "Look" she started "I need to talk to you about something"

"Really? And what would that be?" he asked

"Can you…can you let your control over me just for one night? Just for tonight?" Trigon chuckled

"Interesting, tell me, why I should do that?" he grinned, flashing white razor sharp teeth towards her

"Because…well…I have a date tonight" Raven's words took Trigon aback. Sure, he's a demon who wishes to cause chaos and destruction, but she's his daughter nevertheless

"You...you are going out with an Earthling?" he asked, Raven nodded

"And you love him?" Raven nodded again. Trigon bit his lip, he was her father on one hand, but on the other, allowing her to experience joy means going against his demon nature. He never actually cared for her, but now, he did, leaving his demon personality aside, he nodded and stared at Raven's blood red eyes; black energy erupted from them and into his, during this process, Raven began shrinking, back to her normal self. She felt like a giant rock has been rolled off her back. Trigon smiled, it wasn't a grin, but a smile, a near human one.

"You just go and have fun, but remember, I'll be watching you" Raven raised her two violet towards Trigon's four yellow eyes in a gesture of gratitude

"What do mean 'watching me'?" she asked

"I have my ways" replied the demon and transformed into a huge amount of crows that flew everywhere, squawking. Raven walked back to Happy, Trendy and the rest and motioned them into the room

"I asked you to come here for one and only one reason" said Raven

"And what would that be?" questioned Valor. Raven opened her closet, allowing a pile of clothes to fall out

"I need you to help me pick an outfit for tonight" she replied

"Dress-up, dress-up, dress-up, dress-up, dress-up, dress-up!" exclaimed Happy, nearly blowing everyone's eardrums. Raven seemed like she was about to explode, but quickly softened up

"Happy, look, I got three hours to pick an outfit, please stay focused" this took immediate impact; Happy stopped skipping around and lowered her eyes, moving her foot back and forth. She looked a lot like a little girl who knew she did a bad thing.

"Well are we gonna start or what?" exclaimed Trendy, shooting everyone back to reality

"Let's get to work" said Smart, handing Raven a CD player and a pair of headphones "Better put these on, this is gonna take a while"

-

"_I should not do this. This deed is wrong, using one of my friends to hurt another, but he hurt me, he deserves this_" biting her lip, Starfire looked at her mirror image, her imagination ran wild and she could swear she saw Blackfire staring back at her

"_I am nothing like her. Her only purpose is to cause suffering to her surrounding. Doing this will only hurt Robin, and he deserves this_" she dropped on her bed and closed her eyes for a bit, thinking, she saw an image walking out of the darkness

"And what did I do to deserve this?" asked the figure. It started to clear out, it was Red-X. Starfire shot up and looked at herself in the mirror

"_My mind is correct, the Red-X did not do me wrong, and he does not deserve to be hurt this way. I should address him and cancel our meeting_" she got up and left her room. Walking down the hall, she met Red-X

"Um…Red-X? There is something I would like to tell you" she said firmly

"You look too serious, what is it?" he asked, fear growing inside him. He knew what she was going to say.

"Well, I-" she started when she heard Robin's muffled voice through his door

_"Tom, what took you so long? Yeah, I saw the files you sent me. Busy? Nah, I cleared out the whole evening. We'll catch him this time…"_

"Cutie, you there?" asked X

"Huh? Yes, I am here" she replied

"You were saying?"

"N…Nothing, I just wanted to ask you if it is okay if I will bring my…my…Zorka berries with me!" she went back to her room

"_Jeez…and I thought earth chicks are weird. Tamaranians give this word a whole new definition_" he muttered to himself and went back to his room

-

"The red belt looks better!" screamed Trendy while pulling on a red belt, which was held by Happy

"No it doesn't, the black one rules!" retaliated Happy, pulling it towards her

"Does not!"

"Does to!"

"Does not!"

"Does to!"

"Nuh-uh"

"Uh-huh"

"Nuh-uh"  
"Uh-huh"

"Shut up!" shouted Valor, a vein pounding across her forehead "The yellow one is the best" she held up a yellow belt. Happy and Trendy exchanged glances

"Attack the infidel!" exclaimed Happy, pouncing along with Trendy on Valor. The fight lasted a few minutes until a faint "Hello?" was heard. The three stopped; Trendy was lying on the floor, her teeth sunken into Valor's left leg, Valor's right leg was planted into Trendy's stomach and Happy was standing on her shoulders, strangling Valor and struggling against the green cloaked emotion which was also strangling her.

"Raven, where are you? I was by your room, but it's like…not there" asked a confused Beast Boy. Smart quickly removed her glasses and tried to sound like Raven

"Yeah…I'm a bit busy, wait for me at the movies, I'll be there in time" she said

"What's wrong with your voice Rae, It's a bit off" Smart faked a cough

"Yeah…I…got a little sick, sore throat…don't worry, just be there" she closed the communicator

"And the lousiest actress award goes to…" Happy pretended to open an envelope "Smart"

"Oh c'mon! I did ok!" said the emotion, raising her hands defensively

"Phht" spat Valor, waving Smart's words off with her hand "You have the same acting skills as a house cat"

"Hey, don't take it out on cats! I saw a movie with a cat that could-" started Happy, but turned silent as soon as she caught Valor's death glare. A loud couch made them turn to the left

"When do you think you'll be finished?" asked Raven

"Oh we were done half an hour ago" explained Smart

"WHAT?!" roared the half demon

"Yeah, we just had a bet on how long can you stay put" said Valor "And I said half an hour, now pay up!" Happy, Trendy, Smart and Modest grumbled and handed Valor the only thing that's valuable at nevermore, candy.

-

The waiting drove Beast Boy crazy; he stood in front of the cinema, pacing back and forth, looking at his watch every five seconds

"_Remember what X told you, play it cool, so she's a little late, so what? Yeah nothing, just play it cool…_"

"Beast Boy" said a voice, piercing through his mind's ongoing chatter. The changeling jumped up and turned towards the voice's source

"Don't ever sneak up on me like tha-" the vision his eyes fed to his brain disabled every ability he had, he could barely breath. Trying to express himself in words, he opened his mouth, but no voice came out, he strained himself and was able to say the only word which was locked into his core memory

"Dude…" he said, prolonging the word. Raven blushed slightly

"Um…shouldn't we go inside or something?" she asked. Beast Boy nodded and they got in. searching the interior of the lobby, Beast Boy spotted the man he was looking for

"Yo Sub! Dude over here!" he shouted. A teen dressed in a usher's clothes, with spiky hair, doused with peroxide approached them; the two slammed their right fists

"Dude, what's you sit-rep? you were supposed to be here two sixties ago!"

"I know dude, I got a little FB'ed waiting for Raven here" he said. Raven seemed confused

"Um…can someone translate this into English? I don't speak dude" Sub chuckled

"Lol, you were right B, she's top gun material" Raven knew what "Lol" was, they were both talking using internet short-words

"Well come in, I got another hall with people waiting for me to roll a movie" he motioned them in an empty hall, they took front row. Sitting down, Beast Boy tried placing his hand on her leg, but was hit in the head by a broomstick

"Ouch, dude what was that?" he exclaimed, turning around, he saw an old genitor, he had long white hair wrapped into a ponytail, black sunglasses and was sweeping the row behind them (A/N: too obvious right?)

"Sorry about that, youngster" apologized the genitor and kept on sweeping. Raven narrowed her eyes towards him while Beast Boy turned around. The janitor grinned and lowered his sunglasses, revealing two glowing yellow eyes, flipped them back on and kept on sweeping

"Next time someone bonks me on the head I'll-"

"Shhh" hissed Raven "The movie's starting"

-

10 o'clock sharp; the young Tamaranian landed at the entrance to the amusement park. A whirling noise caught her attention and she looked to her left, Red-X stood there, instantly glancing at her

"You came on time; I thought you'll be late" she said, surprise clear in her voice

"Cutie, I'm a thief, timing is critical on my job and being late can sometimes mean the end of your life"

"Let us enter?" she asked. X nodded and they both stepped in. handing the tickets to the guard; X examined the closing times

"You close at twelve?" he asked with surprise. The guard, a teen about 16 nodded

"Is there something wrong?" asked Starfire

"Sure is, they close too early" he replied "But, that doesn't mean the fun has to end"

"What do you mean?"

"Look, you showed me how's it like to live like a Titan right? Well, we'll just call this a little payback" the girl seemed intimidated; she knew what X meant, but the idea was to her liking, living in Red-X's high speed world for a few hours was an offer she couldn't refuse

"Your offer is most entreating, I shall take" she said firmly. X raised an eyebrow, causing the right eye slit in his mask to grow

"Well what do you know? It seems you do have a bad side" he thought aloud. Starfire giggled at his remark

"Come, I wish to experience the rides of amusement" she grabbed his arm and dragged him towards one of the rides

-

"She what?!" boomed Robin's voice. He slammed his fist against the table the titans had in their living room, shattering it. On the screen in front of him was Cyborg, an awkward look on his face

"You heard me man, she went to the park with X" Robin looked like he was about to break to pieces

"Are…are you sure?" he asked, voice cracking, approaching breaking point. Cyborg nodded silently

"Positive" said the android

"Okay, thanks for the heads up" said Robin, trying to sound calm

"Man, wait 'till they come back and then talk it out with X. I don't think he knew Star was off limits"

"I will" said Robin and signed off "Right after I'll snap every bone in his body in half"

Author Notes

OOOOOOH… it's getting hot in here, what's going to happen next time? That's for you to find out. Eleven pages! I think my fingers are broken, no matter, anything for my readers!

Review and remember to post the name of the Titan that you want to reply to you reviews. Remember, Red-X and Lisa are Titans to!


	14. Trouble's At the Horizon

Disclaimer: Me no own Teen Titans(second time around)

-

If there's one thing Beast Boy had taught me is to always rely on underground servers in eastern Zambia, as always, the changeling was correct and I was able to revise this episode into its complete version, enjoy

-

Chapter Fourteen: Trouble's At the Horizon (Revised)

-

"Don't go in there! No! Don't!" cried a petrified Beast Boy, but as foreseen, the on-screen character did not listen, opening the small cabinet door, she faced a horrible looking corpse and gave out a blood-chilling scream. Beast Boy joined her and shrieked with horror

"Relax B, it's just a movie" said Raven, padding him on the shoulder. The changeling yelped and jumped high into the air, turning into a bird. He came down moments later and changed back, giving her an angry look while padding his chest

"Don't. Do. That. Ever. Again!" he said

"Jeez…and I thought you liked horror movies" replied Raven sarcastically

"Not anymore, from this day forth, I, Beast Boy, will watch only documentary movies"

"Whatever" came Raven's short comeback

"But what will happen to the people we show it to?" asked an on-screen child. An older woman gave him a meaningful stare and the screen went static

"Is it over?" asked Beast Boy

"Yeah, you can open your eyes now" replied the Goth and walked out of the small hall. Following her, Beast Boy looked at his watch

"_Twelve thirty…too early…think Beast Boy, Think!_" he screamed mentally. Looking around, he found his salvation; a Mario's Pizza place stood in front of the cinema

"Um…Wonna get a slice?" he shot blindly. Raven looked at him oddly

"Why not" she finally said "I need to go to the bathroom so I'll meet you there"

"Great!" he replied and left towards the pizza place. Raven headed for the bathroom; she looked at herself in the glass mirror

"_They did a great job, I really look beautiful_" she thought and gave herself another look. She definitely looked different; her leotard and cloak replaced with dark blue tight jeans, with a black belt decorating the upper portion of the jeans, a tight black long sleeved shirt, embedded with false diamonds that created a woman leaning forward with a cigarette, over it, a brown jacket, black high heels, nails painted silver. (A/N: Sorry if the clothes I dressed Raven in were ugly, fashion and I just don't click, please forgive me). They left her face like it always is, and her hair to

"You can have fun" she said to herself and walked out of the room, and towards the pizza place, where she found Beast Boy waiting for her

"Hope you didn't wait too long" she said while sitting down on a chair next to him

"For you, I'll wait forever" he replied dreamily, making the half demon blush and giggle uncomfortably. Beast Boy caught that tone and quickly motioned a waitress to come and take their orders. A teen about sixteen who looked like she wanted to do anything else in her life rather than work, she scooted along to their table and tried her best to smile

"Good eve-" she let out a loud yawn "Ah scratch that, what can I get you?"

"The Mario special and two colas" said Raven. Beast Boy who was still looking at the menu raised his eyes

"And one Big Bowl O' Spaghetti" he finally said. The waitress nodded in agreement and walked to the kitchen

"Not the nicest girl in the mall isn't she?" asked Beast Boy, trying to start a conversation

"I think that given the circumstances, it's okay for her to act this way, I mean, she has been working here for six hours straight and I know the boss of this place is a pig; a friend of mine used to work here" replied Raven, tapping her fingers on the surface of the table nervously, waiting for him to say something, anything. After a few minutes of silence, the girl finally came back and handed them their orders. They both looked at the large pizza in front of them; Beast Boy took a slice and handed it to Raven who in response, raised an eyebrow

"Ladies first" he said, regaining his British accent

"Since when did you become a gentleman?" she asked as she took the slice from his hand and took a small bite of it

"Since I've been with a real lady" he replied and took a sip of cola

-

"This line will take forever to end" growled an irritated Red-X and looked up to see the line of people standing to get on "The Raptor" rollercoaster, from the place he and Starfire were standing, the line seemed to stretch on for miles

"True, this line seems as long as a Glorft's tail" she replied. Looking to her right, she saw two teens, a boy and a girl, they were both snuggled together, and the boy handed the girl a stick with cotton candy. The girl smiled and snuggled even closer to her companion and they both trailed off

"Red-X, I wish you to buy me some cotton candy" she said. Red-X, who seemed to be a little out of focus stared at her with one eyebrow razed

"Huh?"

"The candy of cotton, I wish you to but me some" she repeated

"But the line…"

"Do not worry, I will, save your place" X nodded and teleported, coming back a few seconds later, holding a stick with a huge amount of cotton candy. Starfire was about to take a bite when she raised her eyes towards the vigilante and looked at him suspiciously

"You stole this, correct?" she asked

"What if I did?" he replied, putting his hands on his waist

"Then you must return this and purchase one with money" Red-X pretended to search his imaginary pockets

"Sorry, probably left my wallet in my _other_ suit" his voice gained a mocking edge, but quickly returned to its normal level. Starfire handed him a handful of dollars

"Can you purchase it now?" she asked. X looked at her with confused eyes that remained hidden under his mask

"I don't get you" he said "Being a thief has taught me one thing, that nothing comes for free, and if you actually get an opportunity to have something for free, you should grab hold of it, and then, I see you, giving up on it, why?" Starfire seemed confused by Red-X's logic. She tried to formulate a sentence, but failed. After a few attempts, she finally managed to make sense

"But stealing is wrong! And now that you have turned to the side of good, you cannot do it anymore" X was about to say something, but lowered his clutched fists in surrender

"I'll do it your way, but I wonder if you'll still think the same after our little date is over" he pressed the buckle of his belt and vanished into his all so familiar black shimmer, right into the front of the line

"Hey bub, me and my hubbie were in front of you, get back on the line!" screamed an oversized woman, spitting bits of popcorn all over his cape. X was ready to draw one of many witty comebacks but turned silent as soon as he felt Starfire's stare on him. Looking to his right, he spotted her; her emerald eyes locked on him from her far away location at the rollercoaster line. Suppressing his nature, he walked out of the line and headed for its end, on his way, he heard the woman's voice

"What's with the kids today Harold? Did you see the way he dressed? It's like Halloween came early" she didn't even notice the small, nearly transparent red X that he flanged into the cotton candy making machine. The woman and her husband, a skinny balding man walked out of the line and headed for a ride at the merry-go-round. Again, the woman was so preoccupied with herself that she didn't hear Red-X who clearly stated

"Five…four…three…two" he raised his cape over his face "one" the treat exploded in the woman's hand, sending cotton candy flying all over the place. X teleported back and handed Starfire a paper bag

"I figured you're a hot-dog person anyway" she took a bite out of the hot-dog and purred in pleasure

"This has the beverage of flavor in it, correct?" she asked, Red-X seemed puzzled. It was then when the young Tamaranian remembered he wasn't a Teen Titan when she stated her love for the yellow condiment

"Mustard" she corrected herself, making the vigilante's eyes wide with realization

"Umm…yeah, I guess" he replied. Looking forward, he saw that they were next in line, standing behind a group of teenagers that got onto the rollercoaster as a single person, taking their seats. X grabbed Starfire's hand and they both squeezed between the teenagers, catching a place on one of the rows. The cart started rising upwards, getting more and more away from the ground. Starfire was busy looking down when a voice of one of the teenagers caught her attention

"This is the fastest coaster in the world" he said to the girl strapped next to him "No one ever rode it without blowing chunks afterwards"

"Red-X, what is this blowing of chunks that this boy was talking about?" she asked. X turned his head towards her

"Don't worry yourself about it, just sit back and enjoy the–" his words were swallowed by the unified scream that was given out by the rollercoaster's travelers. The ride took about half a minute to end, leaving the platform, Starfire seemed ill. X looked at her, half concerned and half amused. She suddenly placed her hand over her face, leaned towards a nearby garbage can, and vomited. X started laughing; a mechanical screech that seemed to never end, until he suddenly grabbed hold of his stomach and dived into a bush, his eyes wide, sonly enough, gagging sounds could be heard and a couple of moments later, he came out, fixing his mask into it's proper place, and right into Starfire's awaiting glare. Fear crept into his mind, he didn't mean to offend her, searching his brain, he was able to manage an apology

"Don't take it personal cutie, it was just funny because…well…" Starfire's response came as a complete shock to him; she pointed at him and broke into hysterics. Her laughter sounded like bells ringing, an angelic sound that took an affect on the vigilante, at first he tried to resist it, but seconds later, he joined her in laughter. People who were at on the same ride joined them; pointing at each other and laughing and soon, a crowd of fifty people could barely stand, but was still laughing. Walking away from the strange scene, Starfire turned towards Red-X

"Should we proceed with the action that is known as snuggling?" an eye slit grew wide

"What do you mean 'should we'? It's your call" he replied, obviously confused

"Forgive me, Red-X, I am not familiar with the courting manners of-"

"Hold that thought, you're telling me that this is your first date on Earth?" Starfire lowered her head

"Hey, cutie, I didn't mean to hurt you, I just got a little surprised, that's all" something cracked inside him, he couldn't put his finger on it, but seeing that little ball of silver trickle down on her cheek made him feel something, something he had never felt before, compassion

"It is my first date ever" she said and sniffled

"_Great idea pointing out she's lonely, you idiot!_" screamed X's mind, he was mentally kicking himself, but when he heard Starfire's words, it was like he had been hit by a train

"BUT…! I mean, why? You're beautiful, and smart and-"

"On Tamaran the males do not court the females for their looks or smarts, but for their passion in battle, and I am what you call, a pacifist" she tried to stop the tears, but instead, more and more just came down, trickling down her face and onto the ground. The feeling of a hand, placed over her shoulder made her look up to Red-X. She rose up and embraced him, a painful squeeze that is equivalent to that of an Anaconda, but he said nothing, just stood there, her head over his shoulder, the tears running down his cape, leaving darkened stains in the black fabric. She slowly loosened her lock on his body and walked back. X collapsed to the ground and gasped for air, that embrace could have killed him. A minute later he got up and took Starfire's hand into his own

"I think we've had enough amusement for one night, time to move on" he said and walked with her towards the exit

"But where will we go now?" she asked, not knowing whether to feel afraid or not. Red-X's reply didn't ease that feeling

"My place"

-

"This spaghetti is great!" exclaimed Beast Boy while driving a fork load of the strings into his mouth. Raven looked at him with amusement and put the fork wrapped with spaghetti into her mouth as well. Soon, the bowl was empty

"Man, that was one good meal!" he exclaimed again, padding his stomach. Raven raised her eyes towards him and giggled

"What?" he asked, unsure of what he had done

"You got a little…" she moved her finger across her face, to her right cheek

"Oh!" said the changeling and wiped his face, but in no avail, the stain of orange sauce remained

"Did I get it?" he asked, Raven shook her head no. He tried again, and failed

"Hold on a sec" she said and leaned towards him, wiping the stain off with a napkin. Realization kicked in and she noticed how close hers and Beast Boy's faces got. He leaned towards her and their lips locked for a few seconds, then suddenly, pulled back, both staring at each other with utter shock

"That was a mistake" said Raven

"A big one" continued Beast Boy

"And it'll never happen again"

"Never" Both looked at each other again, and leaned for the kiss. Again, lips locked together, arms extending towards each other, wrapped around the waist, pulling the two bodies towards each other. Minutes seemed like hours, but in a good way, the way you want time to slow down, so you'll be able to enjoy each and every split-second of the event. They broke off, both looking dazed, even after several minutes, the look hadn't faded away from their faces

"Raven...that was…"

"Amazing" she completed. The unplanned staring contest was still underway, both Raven and Beast Boy looking deeply into each other's eyes; Beast Boy's crystal white eyes reflected Raven's violet pupils. That moment lasted days in Beast Boy's perception, until a sudden "Hey guys!" shot them both back to reality. Raven nearly jumped out of her skin, but managed to keep it together and sent a look to her left, where her stare met Cyborg and Lisa, both unaware of the moment their two teammates just shared. A quick glance over Beast Boy and Raven told Lisa what was going on

"Um…Vic, I think you and Beast Boy need to look at the new Mega Monkeys game that came out last week" Lisa's attempt to isolate herself and Raven from the boys was in no avail, because Cyborg, like the changeling, just couldn't take a hint

"Lisa, there was no Mega Monkeys game release last-" the sharp elbow that connected with his metallic stomach cleared the point for him. Grabbing Beast Boy by the ear, Cyborg dragged him towards a nearby video game store, leaving the two females alone

"But there was no Mega-" started a still dazed Beast Boy

"Wake up and smell the napalm man, Lisa wants to get Raven alone so they can talk about your date, and so do I, so spill!" the android gestured his hands forwards, rushing Beast Boy to talk

"Dude, no way, it's private!" Cyborg scratched his head

"I'll…let you mess around with my computer" he tried. The changeling shook his head no

"…And get you past advanced marksmanship training" Beast Boy again shook his head no

"…And always be your teammate" Beast Boy razed an eyebrow

"Even when I'll get stuck with a loser team?"

"Even when you'll get stuck with a loser team" replied Cyborg. The shape shifter shook his hand

"It was…"

"Great!" said Raven enthusiastically, eyes filled with a not so familiar sparkle and an even more unfamiliar smile on her lips; in front of her sat an interested Lisa, sipping cola with a straw "I mean, I never knew Beast Boy could be so…so…"

"Not-Beast Boy" completed Lisa

"Exactly!" said Raven and nodded

"So…did you kiss?" the question hit the half-demon like a brick in the face, and had about the same affect. Raven's face turned red and every sentence she tried to formulate started with a weak "Well…"

"I'll take it that you did, and by the look on your face, it was on of your first kisses"

"The first" corrected Raven. Lisa stared at her with partial shock

"Really? Well, tell me all about it. They boys won't be back soon" the female android leaned against her elbows and raised two large brown eyes towards Raven

-

Robin looked at the computer screen with disbelief; after he finished his talk with Cyborg he went to the training room to blow off some steam, but discovered he was tiring too quickly "_A simple blood test should clear this matter_" he thought as he used his teeth to tighten the rubber band on his left arm while driving the silver needle through the arm, towards the vein. He looked down on the long list of substances found in his blood, to his relief, the test revealed no remains of Curare, but while scrolling down, he found out his blood contained microscopic traces of an unknown neuro-toxin. The Boy Wonder knew what the material was, he knew its molecular structure by heart; it was the chemical reagent, the one Slade used, and he had traces of it in his blood. He sprinted in an inhuman speed towards the med-lab and straight to the coolant-storage unit; a huge refrigerator looking object, he opened it; a cold wave went through his body and the room was flushed with white fog that dropped to floor level, giving the room an eerie look. Robin searched the numerous shelves until he found it, a small white box with the words Counter Agent written on it in back bold letters. He took out one syringe and held it with fumbling hands, that's when he heard it; just like Slade told him, in the dark corners of his mind, chuckling, Slade's chuckling. This was a battle Robin could fight, during his last encounter with the reagent the images were vivid, too vivid, painfully vivid, but now, it was just a shadowy voice and he knew how to deal with shadows, fighting along Batman had taught him a thing or two about mind alteration and scare tactics. Without second thoughts, he jabbed the steel needle through his neck and into his main artery. The voice began fading, or so Robin felt, but the next time he heard it, was all to real

"_She's with him now Robin, not you, you know what that means don't you? She loves him_" whispered an echo. Robin's eyes widened

"_That's bull! Starfire loves me, not him!_"

"_Oh really? Than why is she not here? Tell me Robin, why?_"

"_Shut up!_"

"_I won't Robin, I never will, you know I'm right and that's what driving you crazy_"

"_You're wrong! I made a mistake, that's all, she'll be back to me, she will! She LOVES ME!_" The Boy Wonder jerked around wildly, screaming at the walls, throwing all sorts of medical supplies around the room

"_That won't do you any good Robin, I'm still here, and I won't leave until you lose every bit of sanity and turn to what I always knew you were: Evil_"

"_I'm not evil you lunatic, I'm good, I've stopped you!_"

"_But you did not destroy me Robin_"

"_I will this time!_"

"_Oh really? Take your best shot, I dare you_"

"_Maybe I will_" Robin took out a fire extinguisher and slammed it with all of his strength against his own head, knocking himself unconscious, lying on the med-lab's floor with a small gash in his forehead, blood slowly trickling down from the wound to the floor

-

"Here we are, don't mind the mess, I haven't got a chance to clean up this place lately" said Red-X and led Starfire into his apartment; a three roomed studio apartment, the place looked like a tornado of crime went through it; with priceless art pieces scattered around the place, piles of jewelry located at random places, the kitchen was piled up with pizza trays and bottles of cola and cheap beer. Starfire stepped into the apartment and tried to avoid colliding with the numerous objects that lay on the floor until she bumped into a pillar covered with a red piece of fabric. Stepping back, she pulled the cover back, revealing a life-size model of Samara Morgan, she jumped back in shock and caught Red-X's attention

"Hey, I was looking for that!" he said and nudged the model, making in move back and forth in an awkward manner

"Look cutie, she's dancing" giving out a chuckle, Starfire raised her eyes towards the gruesome doll. X got back to burrowing through the piles of junk around the living room

"What is that that you are looking for?" questioned the young Tamaranian

"Your gear" he replied. Starfire seemed puzzled

"What do you mean by 'my gear'?"

"Well, if you want to be a thief, you need to be dressed like a thief" he pulled out a silver suitcase and opened it; inside it was a folded suit, a pair of night vision goggles with red lenses and a pair of back boots. He took out the suit and boots and handed them to Starfire

"Put these on" he said calmly.

"Why do you wish to rob that place Red-X? I thought you have turned to our side" replied Starfire as she grabbed the suit and boots

"I already told you; ever since I became a thief, I dreamt of robbing that place, but I couldn't, this would be my grand finale', the last act of fun"

"And by making me wear this suit, what will you achieve?"

"Ok, there are two things you need to know; one, by putting on this suit, you'll be wearing twenty million dollars of cutting edge stealth technology; that suit is covered with the same materials used to cover stealth fighters, so you'll be able to slip through motion and heat sensors my cloaking tech doesn't fool, that's the only way we'll be able to get in there"

"And the second thing?"

"I just thought you'll look really hot wearing that" Starfire blushed and walked to another room, changing her outfit to the skin tight black suit. She stepped out and her eyes met a surprising sight; it was Red-X, put he was only partially dressed, the pants part of the suit still on him, the belt dangling over a chair and the black head piece with the skull mask over his head. The red crept onto her cheeks and she couldn't do anything about it

"What's the matter cutie? Never seen someone's abs before?" he asked and turned towards another room

"I…I…I most certainly have, but-"

"If you want to see more, you just have to ask, you know" he turned his head towards her and his right eye slit narrowed down to two thin lines; a wink. He resumed his walk and shut the door behind him, not before flinging has pants out of the room, making them land with a 'Thwap' on the floor. Starfire looked at the large golden clock mounted on the northern wall, the hands showed 12:45, trying to explain the situation at hand to herself, she remembered a line from an old black and white movie she saw once

"_Hang on Star; this is going to be a bumpy ride_"

Author Notes

Yay I'm done! This is the fully revised chapter fourteen, I hope you liked it, if you don't mind reviewing it again, I'd really appreciate it. Didn't have time to write the Titans' replies because…ern…well… my folks are working a 24/7 surveillance on me. I promise that the first thing I'll do with chapter fifteen is the replies.

So please review!

One thing I will reply to: one of you people asked my for my other stories, well, one of the is titled Friends, but I don't think you want to read it; it was my first fan-fic so it isn't that good, oh well, you can still try.  
Just search for Friends

Oh and review this chapter to!


	15. Chapter 14 revised

Disclaimer: Me no own Teen Titans(second time around)

-

To all of myreaders: oops! I didn't know that replacing a chapter doesn't mean an "update" well, i reposted the revised version, enjoy

-

If there's one thing Beast Boy had taught me is to always rely on underground servers in eastern Zambia, as always, the changeling was correct and I was able to revise this episode into its complete version, enjoy

-

Chapter Fourteen: Trouble's At the Horizon (Revised)

-

"Don't go in there! No! Don't" cried a petrified Beast Boy, but as foreseen, the on-screen character did not listen, opening the small cabinet door, she faced a horrible looking corpse and gave out a blood-chilling scream. Beast Boy joined her and shrieked with horror

"Relax B, it's just a movie" said Raven, padding him on the shoulder. The changeling yelped and jumped high into the air, turning into a bird. He came down moments later and changed back, giving her an angry look while padding his chest

"Don't. Do. That. Ever. Again" he said

"Jeez…and I thought you liked horror movies" replied Raven sarcastically

"Not anymore, from this day forth, I, Beast Boy, will watch only documentary movies"

"Whatever" came Raven's short comeback

"But what will happen to the people we show it to" asked an on-screen child. An older woman gave him a meaningful stare and the screen went static

"Is it over" asked Beast Boy

"Yeah, you can open your eyes now" replied the Goth and walked out of the small hall. Following her, Beast Boy looked at his watch

"_Twelve thirty…too early…think Beast Boy, Think!_" he screamed mentally. Looking around, he found his salvation; a Mario's Pizza place stood in front of the cinema

"Um…Wonna get a slice" he shot blindly. Raven looked at him oddly

"Why not" she finally said "I need to go to the bathroom so I'll meet you there"

"Great" he replied and left towards the pizza place. Raven headed for the bathroom; she looked at herself in the glass mirror

"_They did a great job, I really look beautiful_" she thought and gave herself another look. She definitely looked different; her leotard and cloak replaced with dark blue tight jeans, with a black belt decorating the upper portion of the jeans, a tight black long sleeved shirt, embedded with false diamonds that created a woman leaning forward with a cigarette, over it, a brown jacket, black high heels, nails painted silver. (A/N: Sorry if the clothes I dressed Raven in were ugly, fashion and I just don't click, please forgive me). They left her face like it always is, and her hair to

"You can have fun" she said to herself and walked out of the room, and towards the pizza place, where she found Beast Boy waiting for her

"Hope you didn't wait too long" she said while sitting down on a chair next to him

"For you, I'll wait forever" he replied dreamily, making the half demon blush and giggle uncomfortably. Beast Boy caught that tone and quickly motioned a waitress to come and take their orders. A teen about sixteen who looked like she wanted to do anything else in her life rather than work, she scooted along to their table and tried her best to smile

"Good eve" she let out a loud yawn "Ah scratch that, what can I get you"

"The Mario special and two colas" said Raven. Beast Boy who was still looking at the menu raised his eyes

"And one Big Bowl O' Spaghetti" he finally said. The waitress nodded in agreement and walked to the kitchen

"Not the nicest girl in the mall isn't she" asked Beast Boy, trying to start a conversation

"I think that given the circumstances, it's okay for her to act this way, I mean, she has been working here for six hours straight and I know the boss of this place is a pig; a friend of mine used to work here" replied Raven, tapping her fingers on the surface of the table nervously, waiting for him to say something, anything. After a few minutes of silence, the girl finally came back and handed them their orders. They both looked at the large pizza in front of them; Beast Boy took a slice and handed it to Raven who in response, raised an eyebrow

"Ladies first" he said, regaining his British accent

"Since when did you become a gentleman" she asked as she took the slice from his hand and took a small bite of it

"Since I've been with a real lady" he replied and took a sip of cola

-

"This line will take forever to end" growled an irritated Red-X and looked up to see the line of people standing to get on "The Raptor" rollercoaster, from the place he and Starfire were standing, the line seemed to stretch on for miles

"True, this line seems as long as a Glorft's tail" she replied. Looking to her right, she saw two teens, a boy and a girl, they were both snuggled together, and the boy handed the girl a stick with cotton candy. The girl smiled and snuggled even closer to her companion and they both trailed off

"Red-X, I wish you to buy me some cotton candy" she said. Red-X, who seemed to be a little out of focus stared at her with one eyebrow razed

"Huh"

"The candy of cotton, I wish you to but me some" she repeated

"But the line…"

"Do not worry, I will, save your place" X nodded and teleported, coming back a few seconds later, holding a stick with a huge amount of cotton candy. Starfire was about to take a bite when she raised her eyes towards the vigilante and looked at him suspiciously

"You stole this, correct" she asked

"What if I did" he replied, putting his hands on his waist

"Then you must return this and purchase one with money" Red-X pretended to search his imaginary pockets

"Sorry, probably left my wallet in my _other_ suit" his voice gained a mocking edge, but quickly returned to its normal level. Starfire handed him a handful of dollars

"Can you purchase it now" she asked. X looked at her with confused eyes that remained hidden under his mask

"I don't get you" he said "Being a thief has taught me one thing, that nothing comes for free, and if you actually get an opportunity to have something for free, you should grab hold of it, and then, I see you, giving up on it, why" Starfire seemed confused by Red-X's logic. She tried to formulate a sentence, but failed. After a few attempts, she finally managed to make sense

"But stealing is wrong! And now that you have turned to the side of good, you cannot do it anymore" X was about to say something, but lowered his clutched fists in surrender

"I'll do it your way, but I wonder if you'll still think the same after our little date is over" he pressed the buckle of his belt and vanished into his all so familiar black shimmer, right into the front of the line

"Hey bub, me and my hubbie were in front of you, get back on the line" screamed an oversized woman, spitting bits of popcorn all over his cape. X was ready to draw one of many witty comebacks but turned silent as soon as he felt Starfire's stare on him. Looking to his right, he spotted her; her emerald eyes locked on him from her far away location at the rollercoaster line. Suppressing his nature, he walked out of the line and headed for its end, on his way, he heard the woman's voice

"What's with the kids today Harold? Did you see the way he dressed? It's like Halloween came early" she didn't even notice the small, nearly transparent red X that he flanged into the cotton candy making machine. The woman and her husband, a skinny balding man walked out of the line and headed for a ride at the merry-go-round. Again, the woman was so preoccupied with herself that she didn't hear Red-X who clearly stated

"Five…four…three…two" he raised his cape over his face "one" the treat exploded in the woman's hand, sending cotton candy flying all over the place. X teleported back and handed Starfire a paper bag

"I figured you're a hot-dog person anyway" she took a bite out of the hot-dog and purred in pleasure

"This has the beverage of flavor in it, correct" she asked, Red-X seemed puzzled. It was then when the young Tamaranian remembered he wasn't a Teen Titan when she stated her love for the yellow condiment

"Mustard" she corrected herself, making the vigilante's eyes wide with realization

"Umm…yeah, I guess" he replied. Looking forward, he saw that they were next in line, standing behind a group of teenagers that got onto the rollercoaster as a single person, taking their seats. X grabbed Starfire's hand and they both squeezed between the teenagers, catching a place on one of the rows. The cart started rising upwards, getting more and more away from the ground. Starfire was busy looking down when a voice of one of the teenagers caught her attention

"This is the fastest coaster in the world" he said to the girl strapped next to him "No one ever rode it without blowing chunks afterwards"

"Red-X, what is this blowing of chunks that this boy was talking about" she asked. X turned his head towards her

"Don't worry yourself about it, just sit back and enjoy the–" his words were swallowed by the unified scream that was given out by the rollercoaster's travelers. The ride took about half a minute to end, leaving the platform, Starfire seemed ill. X looked at her, half concerned and half amused. She suddenly placed her hand over her face, leaned towards a nearby garbage can, and vomited. X started laughing; a mechanical screech that seemed to never end, until he suddenly grabbed hold of his stomach and dived into a bush, his eyes wide, sonly enough, gagging sounds could be heard and a couple of moments later, he came out, fixing his mask into it's proper place, and right into Starfire's awaiting glare. Fear crept into his mind, he didn't mean to offend her, searching his brain, he was able to manage an apology

"Don't take it personal cutie, it was just funny because…well…" Starfire's response came as a complete shock to him; she pointed at him and broke into hysterics. Her laughter sounded like bells ringing, an angelic sound that took an affect on the vigilante, at first he tried to resist it, but seconds later, he joined her in laughter. People who were at on the same ride joined them; pointing at each other and laughing and soon, a crowd of fifty people could barely stand, but was still laughing. Walking away from the strange scene, Starfire turned towards Red-X

"Should we proceed with the action that is known as snuggling" an eye slit grew wide

"What do you mean 'should we'? It's your call" he replied, obviously confused

"Forgive me, Red-X, I am not familiar with the courting manners of"

"Hold that thought, you're telling me that this is your first date on Earth" Starfire lowered her head

"Hey, cutie, I didn't mean to hurt you, I just got a little surprised, that's all" something cracked inside him, he couldn't put his finger on it, but seeing that little ball of silver trickle down on her cheek made him feel something, something he had never felt before, compassion

"It is my first date ever" she said and sniffled

"_Great idea pointing out she's lonely, you idiot!_" screamed X's mind, he was mentally kicking himself, but when he heard Starfire's words, it was like he had been hit by a train

"BUT…! I mean, why? You're beautiful, and smart and"

"On Tamaran the males do not court the females for their looks or smarts, but for their passion in battle, and I am what you call, a pacifist" she tried to stop the tears, but instead, more and more just came down, trickling down her face and onto the ground. The feeling of a hand, placed over her shoulder made her look up to Red-X. She rose up and embraced him, a painful squeeze that is equivalent to that of an Anaconda, but he said nothing, just stood there, her head over his shoulder, the tears running down his cape, leaving darkened stains in the black fabric. She slowly loosened her lock on his body and walked back. X collapsed to the ground and gasped for air, that embrace could have killed him. A minute later he got up and took Starfire's hand into his own

"I think we've had enough amusement for one night, time to move on" he said and walked with her towards the exit

"But where will we go now" she asked, not knowing whether to feel afraid or not. Red-X's reply didn't ease that feeling

"My place"

-

"This spaghetti is great" exclaimed Beast Boy while driving a fork load of the strings into his mouth. Raven looked at him with amusement and put the fork wrapped with spaghetti into her mouth as well. Soon, the bowl was empty

"Man, that was one good meal" he exclaimed again, padding his stomach. Raven raised her eyes towards him and giggled

"What" he asked, unsure of what he had done

"You got a little…" she moved her finger across her face, to her right cheek

"Oh" said the changeling and wiped his face, but in no avail, the stain of orange sauce remained

"Did I get it" he asked, Raven shook her head no. He tried again, and failed

"Hold on a sec" she said and leaned towards him, wiping the stain off with a napkin. Realization kicked in and she noticed how close hers and Beast Boy's faces got. He leaned towards her and their lips locked for a few seconds, then suddenly, pulled back, both staring at each other with utter shock

"That was a mistake" said Raven

"A big one" continued Beast Boy

"And it'll never happen again"

"Never" Both looked at each other again, and leaned for the kiss. Again, lips locked together, arms extending towards each other, wrapped around the waist, pulling the two bodies towards each other. Minutes seemed like hours, but in a good way, the way you want time to slow down, so you'll be able to enjoy each and every split-second of the event. They broke off, both looking dazed, even after several minutes, the look hadn't faded away from their faces

"Raven...that was…"

"Amazing" she completed. The unplanned staring contest was still underway, both Raven and Beast Boy looking deeply into each other's eyes; Beast Boy's crystal white eyes reflected Raven's violet pupils. That moment lasted days in Beast Boy's perception, until a sudden "Hey guys" shot them both back to reality. Raven nearly jumped out of her skin, but managed to keep it together and sent a look to her left, where her stare met Cyborg and Lisa, both unaware of the moment their two teammates just shared. A quick glance over Beast Boy and Raven told Lisa what was going on

"Um…Vic, I think you and Beast Boy need to look at the new Mega Monkeys game that came out last week" Lisa's attempt to isolate herself and Raven from the boys was in no avail, because Cyborg, like the changeling, just couldn't take a hint

"Lisa, there was no Mega Monkeys game release last" the sharp elbow that connected with his metallic stomach cleared the point for him. Grabbing Beast Boy by the ear, Cyborg dragged him towards a nearby video game store, leaving the two females alone

"But there was no Mega" started a still dazed Beast Boy

"Wake up and smell the napalm man, Lisa wants to get Raven alone so they can talk about your date, and so do I, so spill" the android gestured his hands forwards, rushing Beast Boy to talk

"Dude, no way, it's private" Cyborg scratched his head

"I'll…let you mess around with my computer" he tried. The changeling shook his head no

"…And get you past advanced marksmanship training" Beast Boy again shook his head no

"…And always be your teammate" Beast Boy razed an eyebrow

"Even when I'll get stuck with a loser team"

"Even when you'll get stuck with a loser team" replied Cyborg. The shape shifter shook his hand

"It was…"

"Great" said Raven enthusiastically, eyes filled with a not so familiar sparkle and an even more unfamiliar smile on her lips; in front of her sat an interested Lisa, sipping cola with a straw "I mean, I never knew Beast Boy could be so…so…"

"Not-Beast Boy" completed Lisa

"Exactly" said Raven and nodded

"So…did you kiss" the question hit the half-demon like a brick in the face, and had about the same affect. Raven's face turned red and every sentence she tried to formulate started with a weak "Well…"

"I'll take it that you did, and by the look on your face, it was on of your first kisses"

"The first" corrected Raven. Lisa stared at her with partial shock

"Really? Well, tell me all about it. They boys won't be back soon" the female android leaned against her elbows and raised two large brown eyes towards Raven

-

Robin looked at the computer screen with disbelief; after he finished his talk with Cyborg he went to the training room to blow off some steam, but discovered he was tiring too quickly "_A simple blood test should clear this matter_" he thought as he used his teeth to tighten the rubber band on his left arm while driving the silver needle through the arm, towards the vein. He looked down on the long list of substances found in his blood, to his relief, the test revealed no remains of Curare, but while scrolling down, he found out his blood contained microscopic traces of an unknown neuro-toxin. The Boy Wonder knew what the material was, he knew its molecular structure by heart; it was the chemical reagent, the one Slade used, and he had traces of it in his blood. He sprinted in an inhuman speed towards the med-lab and straight to the coolant-storage unit; a huge refrigerator looking object, he opened it; a cold wave went through his body and the room was flushed with white fog that dropped to floor level, giving the room an eerie look. Robin searched the numerous shelves until he found it, a small white box with the words Counter Agent written on it in back bold letters. He took out one syringe and held it with fumbling hands, that's when he heard it; just like Slade told him, in the dark corners of his mind, chuckling, Slade's chuckling. This was a battle Robin could fight, during his last encounter with the reagent the images were vivid, too vivid, painfully vivid, but now, it was just a shadowy voice and he knew how to deal with shadows, fighting along Batman had taught him a thing or two about mind alteration and scare tactics. Without second thoughts, he jabbed the steel needle through his neck and into his main artery. The voice began fading, or so Robin felt, but the next time he heard it, was all to real

"_She's with him now Robin, not you, you know what that means don't you? She loves him_" whispered an echo. Robin's eyes widened

"_That's bull! Starfire loves me, not him!_"

"_Oh really? Than why is she not here? Tell me Robin, why?_"

"_Shut up!_"

"_I won't Robin, I never will, you know I'm right and that's what driving you crazy_"

"_You're wrong! I made a mistake, that's all, she'll be back to me, she will! She LOVES ME!_" The Boy Wonder jerked around wildly, screaming at the walls, throwing all sorts of medical supplies around the room

"_That won't do you any good Robin, I'm still here, and I won't leave until you lose every bit of sanity and turn to what I always knew you were: Evil_"

"_I'm not evil you lunatic, I'm good, I've stopped you!_"

"_But you did not destroy me Robin_"

"_I will this time!_"

"_Oh really? Take your best shot, I dare you_"

"_Maybe I will_" Robin took out a fire extinguisher and slammed it with all of his strength against his own head, knocking himself unconscious, lying on the med-lab's floor with a small gash in his forehead, blood slowly trickling down from the wound to the floor

-

"Here we are, don't mind the mess, I haven't got a chance to clean up this place lately" said Red-X and led Starfire into his apartment; a three roomed studio apartment, the place looked like a tornado of crime went through it; with priceless art pieces scattered around the place, piles of jewelry located at random places, the kitchen was piled up with pizza trays and bottles of cola and cheap beer. Starfire stepped into the apartment and tried to avoid colliding with the numerous objects that lay on the floor until she bumped into a pillar covered with a red piece of fabric. Stepping back, she pulled the cover back, revealing a life-size model of Samara Morgan, she jumped back in shock and caught Red-X's attention

"Hey, I was looking for that" he said and nudged the model, making in move back and forth in an awkward manner

"Look cutie, she's dancing" giving out a chuckle, Starfire raised her eyes towards the gruesome doll. X got back to burrowing through the piles of junk around the living room

"What is that that you are looking for" questioned the young Tamaranian

"Your gear" he replied. Starfire seemed puzzled

"What do you mean by 'my gear'"

"Well, if you want to be a thief, you need to be dressed like a thief" he pulled out a silver suitcase and opened it; inside it was a folded suit, a pair of night vision goggles with red lenses and a pair of back boots. He took out the suit and boots and handed them to Starfire

"Put these on" he said calmly.

"Why do you wish to rob that place Red-X? I thought you have turned to our side" replied Starfire as she grabbed the suit and boots

"I already told you; ever since I became a thief, I dreamt of robbing that place, but I couldn't, this would be my grand finale', the last act of fun"

"And by making me wear this suit, what will you achieve"

"Ok, there are two things you need to know; one, by putting on this suit, you'll be wearing twenty million dollars of cutting edge stealth technology; that suit is covered with the same materials used to cover stealth fighters, so you'll be able to slip through motion and heat sensors my cloaking tech doesn't fool, that's the only way we'll be able to get in there"

"And the second thing"

"I just thought you'll look really hot wearing that" Starfire blushed and walked to another room, changing her outfit to the skin tight black suit. She stepped out and her eyes met a surprising sight; it was Red-X, put he was only partially dressed, the pants part of the suit still on him, the belt dangling over a chair and the black head piece with the skull mask over his head. The red crept onto her cheeks and she couldn't do anything about it

"What's the matter cutie? Never seen someone's abs before" he asked and turned towards another room

"I…I…I most certainly have, but"

"If you want to see more, you just have to ask, you know" he turned his head towards her and his right eye slit narrowed down to two thin lines; a wink. He resumed his walk and shut the door behind him, not before flinging has pants out of the room, making them land with a 'Thwap' on the floor. Starfire looked at the large golden clock mounted on the northern wall, the hands showed 12:45, trying to explain the situation at hand to herself, she remembered a line from an old black and white movie she saw once

"_Hang on Star; this is going to be a bumpy ride_"

Author Notes

Yay I'm done! This is the fully revised chapter fourteen, I hope you liked it, if you don't mind reviewing it again, I'd really appreciate it. Didn't have time to write the Titans' replies because…ern…well… my folks are working a 24/7 surveillance on me. I promise that the first thing I'll do with chapter fifteen is the replies.

So please review!


	16. New Beginnings

Hey folks, Chapter 15 has finally arrived! Aren't you thrilled! Well unfortunately, my parents' siege on the computer still remains so no replies this chapter to. Good news though, I've been able to talk some sense into their noggins and next week I'll be back online, so here's what I'm going to do; Chapter 16 will be dedicated entirely to the Titans, music videos and replied to chapters 13-15 and Chapter 17 will be the next chapter of Tales of the Closet. Are you cool with that? I hope you do.

Disclaimer: Robin saves, Slade enslaves, Red-X steals, and I write that I don't own the Teen Titans

Chapter 15: New Beginnings

"Come here little ones, the X is where you should hit" said a fumbling distorted voice. Red-X slapped his mask with frustration

"You're getting there cutie" he finally said "But try to make it sound a bit more like this" he leaned towards an invisible enemy in front of him and pointed at his chest

"C'mon kids, X marks the spot" he said smoothly. Starfire looked at him like a student would look at his teacher

"Let me try it again" she said and leaned towards him "C'mon kids, X marks the spot" seeing the way his eye slits narrowed, she realized something was wrong and leaned back

"What have I done wrong this time?" she asked and looked at him with two huge emerald eyes

"It wasn't you this time cutie, the distorter needs a little tweaking" he took the gas mask off her face and turned a dial inside it, a silent rising tone came to ears and it went up the longer he turned it

"Try it now" he said. Starfire did so, and repeated her words. Red-X threw himself back on the armchair behind him and let out a sigh of victory

"Perfect cut, I love it, but there is only one tiny problem"

"Which is?"

"You're not Red-X, come to think of it; you don't even have a nickname" he leaned forward towards her and his eyes narrowed

"What are you doing?" she asked. Her voice showed a slight edge of fear. X didn't respond, but a few seconds later, jumped up as if he was bitten by a snake, and raced towards another room. He came back holding an orange spray paint canister

"Don't move, close your eyes, and hold your breath" he said in a sharp tone, Starfire, without even questioning his purpose, obeyed, and sonly enough, the sound of paint being sprayed filled her ears. A minute later, the noise had stopped, but she still kept her eyes closed, the stinging smell of the paint was still in her nose and forced tears into her eyes, but she held them down. Red-X walked towards another room and came back with a piece of orange fabric; he grabbed a knife from his kitchen and started creating tears in the fabric. He saw Starfire was trying to open her eyes and released a quick "No peaking" minutes later, Starfire felt something being placed over her shoulders. She got up and walked towards a mirror covered with a black sheet. In a quick movement, the vigilante removed the sheet and revealed to Starfire her new self; wearing black boots that seemed to merge with a skin tight black suit that had a styled orange A and O on its chest portion, the O crossing the A's bottom right side. On her shoulders was a cape, torn and tattered like Red-X's, only hers was painted orange, to her mouth was a black gas mask and her eyes were covered with the red lenses of her night vision goggles. The only trace of her old self was her brown hair, still running down her back

"I give you the latest addition to the Red-X corporation, Agent Orange" (A/N: did you like it?)

"Agent Orange? I must admit, it has a nice ring to it" she replied, examining her looks in the mirror, twisting and twirling, always keeping her eyes on the mirror

"Tell me about it, it took me five seconds to think of it, and that's four and a half seconds too long" inside, he was proud of himself, most of the time he didn't give much consideration to what people think of him and his ideas, but she changed everything, suddenly he was trying to make himself look good, no, the best in her eyes. Was it love? Nah, it couldn't be, she was beautiful, innocent and friendly, a bit too friendly, and he did like being around her, but it couldn't be love, just a passing heat wave, like all his past girlfriends, it won't be too long before he'll get bored of her, or will he? Looking at her made him feel right, he didn't know why, but he enjoyed the feeling

"C'mon, we'd better get going, wouldn't want to rob the place after two A.M"

"Then I should fly us there, we will get there much faster"

"Can't, they got news and police choppers all over the place, we'll take my ride" Starfire nodded and the two left the apartment and headed down the stairs, to the building's parking lot. X wandered around the lot for a few seconds and led her to an old beat up car, an old Dodge. Seeing the car, the young Tamaranian wrinkled her nose, which to her luck was hidden under the gas mask

"Wussa matter cutie? You don't like my wheels?" asked the vigilante in an offended distorted tone

"No, no, not at all, it is very…practical" replied Starfire. X gave out a mechanical chuckle and approached the car

"C'mon cutie, you don't really think I would let you ride in this piece of scrap" he reached out below the car and pulled out a disc shaped object. A mechanical crackle was heard and the old Dodge car started fading out, and was replaced by a slick black Dodge Viper. The car was painted jet black, with two red X's crossing its sides, a black tail fin and a license plate that said ROBUOUT. Starfire examined the car with obvious interest and allowed herself into the two seated vehicle; the compact insides of the Viper were obviously modified by Red-X, with a video screen on the dash bored, a Cappuccino maker, four suspicious-looking gas tanks that were extremely cold under the inspecting hand of the young Tamaranian were placed between the two seats, an odd looking extra gauge above the speedometer and a red trigger on the steering wheel. X entered the car and turned on the ignition, the car came to life with a rumbling roar and left the parking lot, cruising through the streets and heading towards the tech district of Jump City. Realizing where they were headed, Starfire took off her gas mask and turned towards Red-X

"Red-X, you need not to rob the research facility, Robin has promised he will provide you with the Xenothium required to keep your suit operational"

"We're not going to get Xenothium" said X sharply, tightening his grip on the steering wheel and taking a sharp left turn

"But we are heading directly towards the Xenothium research labs" protested the young Tamaranian, again, Red-X has managed to confuse her with his logic

"And that's exactly what I want the guy tailing us to think" Starfire turned to look behind her, but a quick "Don't!" made her turn her head back. The vigilante pressed a button beneath the video screen and it displayed a black limo, trying hard to keep up with X's maneuvers, the screen suddenly started going static, the white lines closing on the pictures like a set of jaws

"Put your mask back on" commanded X, Starfire complied, and right on time, the screen was now showing Slade's bronze mask

"Red-X, so nice to see you again" said the criminal

"A real pleasure" replied X, voice dripping with venom

"I see you have a friend with you, who is she? A groupie?" mocked Slade, X was about to speak when he heard another voice talking

"Who wants to know?" asked Starfire, the distorter worked perfectly; Slade did not seem to know who he was talking to

"An interested fellow criminal, but you can call me Slade"

"In that case you can call me Agent Orange"

"Silent and deadly, I like it, so…what are you to our dear X?" asked Slade, looking very interested

"Look here" interrupted Red-X "I'd love listening to your little girl talk all night, but I'm a little busy, so if you please…"

"Right to the point aren't we, well, okay, last chance X, become my apprentice or pay"

"Sorry Slade, you're not my type, now if you excuse me-"

"Are you sure that's you decision?"

"I think he made it clear he doesn't want to see your face again" exclaimed an angry Starfire, Slade's eye narrowed

"Alright then, enjoy the running X, goodbye"

-

Upon disconnecting the call, Slade dialed a new set of numbers into his video phone; the screen now displayed his butler, Wintergreen

"Wintergreen, prepare the transmitter, I need to address Robin one last time, and rid myself of my worst two enemies"

"How will you do that sir?" asked the British butler

"By having Red-X fight the only opponent he can't defeat, himself"

-

"What did Slade mean when he said 'enjoy the running'?" asked Starfire, looking hopefully at Red-X, the vigilante shrugged and kept going forward. A loud gunshot turned his attention towards the video screen, which now displayed four police squad cars following them

"Red-X, you are under arrest, pull over to the side of the road, get out of the car and put your hands up!" said a voice over a loudspeaker, in response; X opened the window and gave the policemen the finger

"Well cutie, I guess we'll have to make some changes in our plan" X took a sharp U turn and drove between the squad cars, which didn't take too long to turn and resume their pursuit

"Where are you heading?" asked a worried Starfire

"Steel City, we'll be able to sneak past them and pull off the job in less than half an hour" the video screen again went static and now displayed a policeman, the man had strong facial lines and a slightly tanned skin, two beady eyes that were covered under the shadow of his police hat glared at Red-X

"Pull over X, you're under arrest!" exclaimed the officer

"Cosgrove, we've through this a million times, we all know you're not going to catch me, send your men and women home to sleep, it's one A.M, I promise we'll play again tomorrow" said X calmly, almost in a bored tone

"The police never sleep X, especially when you're not behind bars, we're going to teach you a lesson you won't forget in a long time"

"I think it's time I'll teach you a lesson, in one of my favorite topics, chemistry" started X, he let one hand off the steering wheel and turned open the valves on the four gas tanks

"Pop quiz Cosgrove, what do you get when you mix two molecules of nitrogen and one molecule of oxygen?" hearing the vigilante's question, Cosgrove's beady eyes widened

"You costumed the car with Nos? (A/N: Nitrous Oxide Syntheses, Nitro boosters) screamed the police chief, face red and nostrils flaring

"Catch me if you can" replied X and squeezed the red trigger on the steering wheel, the action took immediate effect; the black Viper rocketed forward at an insane speed, making the view out of the windows to merge into a blur of black and grey, with occasional red and yellow dots. Perfect timing wasn't a virtue by now, it was a must; with great precision, Red-X turned the steering wheel, now heading up on the Steel City onramp and dodging the oncoming cars at 240 MPH

"He's heading for Steel City, just as you expected chief" said a rookie policewoman sitting in front of a computer monitor

"Excellent, call the Titans East, he's on their jurisdiction now" the officer clicked several buttons and the screen was replaced by a Connection Failed note

"Sorry sir, we can't get to them, I also tried getting the Teen Titans, and got the same results"

"Well, get me anyone else!" scream the chief of police, Red-X has been a pain in his neck for long enough, it was time to clean this mess once and for all

"I think the Justice League are available" suggested the policewoman

"Good, on-screen" commanded chief Cosgrove. The large video screen went black and displayed an Establishing Connection note, seconds later; Superman's face came on screen

"Chief Cosgrove, what is the matter?" asked the man of steel, the strong tone in his voice brought down an aura of safety on everyone present

"We got a little mess that needs your caring, a rouge criminal, Red-X is wreaking havoc among the city, we can't catch him"

"You do realize it's the police's job to catch thieves, don't you?"

"Of course I do, but he's over our heads, even the Teen Titans couldn't have stopped him" after hearing the words Teen Titans, Batman rushed to the screen

"What's with the Teen Titans?" asked the black knight

"I was explaining to Superman that even they couldn't deal with Red-X and-"

"Red-X is on the loose again? We'll take care of this chief" said Batman sharply and terminated the connection, video screens on both the police Headquarters and on the Watch Tower went static

"Robin will have a lot of explaining to do once we stop Red-X" grunted Batman and got into the jet, the rest of the League followed and the aircraft blasted towards Steel City

-

"Let me see if I got you straight, you want me to go skinny dipping with you?" boomed Raven's voice. In front of her, Beast Boy shrunk in panic inside the small compartment of the taxi, legs bent in front of him and body pressed against the door. The cab driver turned towards the two, frowned and shifted her eyes back to the dark road

"Ye…yeah" he replied, his voice trembling, Raven raised an eyebrow, that wasn't the answer she was expecting

"And what made you think I'd say yes?"

"Well, I…I thought it'll be fun?" the changeling raised his right hand in front of his, as if to protect him from an oncoming attack

"So you consider diving naked into an ice cold pond at one A.M, right after you recovered from a bad case of the flu, fun?" Raven no longer seemed angry; her expression has been replaced by a mixture of amusement and confusion

"Well, if you put it that way…Look, all of my big brothers took their girlfriends skinny-dipping, and I don't want to count as the only Logan who didn't" at first, Raven thought it was just a lie to make her go with him, but upon reading the changeling's mind, she realized he was telling the truth. Her eyes softened, but she still stood her ground, truth or no truth, she wouldn't let him see her naked, by choice of course, after all, there was the closet incident three days ago

"Tell you what" she started "Why won't we start slowly, we'll go to the new Swim-O'-Rama that opened downtown last week, the paper said it's opened twenty four hours, and see where it leads us, okay?" without hesitation, the changeling nodded

"To the docks" said Raven. The cabbie did as she commanded and fifteen minutes later, they were facing Titans Tower

"Thanks" said Beast Boy and handed the driver fifteen dollars, the driver declined Beast Boy's money with a wave of her hand

"Not all the people appreciate what you're doing for this city, I'm one of those who do, so this ride, and each and every other you'll take in my cab, is for free" the cabbie had a nice face, she was obviously hard working, but still was kind and welcoming

"Thanks" mumbled both Raven and Beast Boy, and headed towards Titans Tower, Raven flying, and Beast Boy as a hawk. They entered the pitch black living room, scooted to their rooms, took their newly bought swim suits and left the tower in a hurry. Beast Boy didn't even notice the blood stain on the Med-Lab's floor, and both he and Raven weren't aware of the actions that took place five floors beneath them.

-

"He's right…" muttered Robin to himself, he sounded dazed, almost hypnotized "How couldn't I have seen this before? It was so obvious" he continued to whisper to himself, digging through the piles of useless devices and gadgetry that were placed inside Titans Tower's waste floor, he kept on searching frantically, as if he was possessed, his mask hiding two bloodshot eyes that had a maniacal spark to them "There is only one way he could be so good, only one way" he turned one box over another. While he was unconscious, Slade talked to him again, but he was careless in his words, or so Robin thought, before Slade had finished, he said something, a sentence that wouldn't mean anything to any other person "I love it when the good guy wins". But to Robin, whose mind was flushed with rage, jealousy and mind altering chemicals, it meant the world, he knew who Red-X was, Slade, and with this new found truth, he had also found out that he could not beat the madman, not under normal circumstances, he had to even the odds, and he had the weapon he needed to do it. With pounding heart, he started uncovering the insides of the box whose label said

RED-X V1.00

-

They arrived at the Swim-O'-Rama, a building resembling a dome of some sort, colored in a nearly transparent bluish color. The words Swim-O'-Rama were written in glowing yellow neon and were placed above the entrance. Beast Boy and Raven exchanged glances and entered the building; the moment they did so, their noses were filled with the slight tingle of chloride and the sounds of water splashing. They walked down the long hall until the found the locker rooms. After changing to their swimsuits, the two met at the point where the locker rooms split into the male and female compartments. Both looked at each other with astonishment, it was an awkward moment for the both of them, sure, they saw each other naked, but there was something different this time, Raven was the first to talk

"Well, shall we?" Beast Boy just nodded, and they both walked along the red corridor towards the door that was labeled Pools. Even before entering, they heard the sound of teenagers screaming and upon entering, the saw an odd sight; a giant pool whose center has been covered with a thick layer of nylon and a net placed in the middle of it. On the nylon were at least twenty boys and girls in their late teens, playing volley ball. Raven looked at the odd sight with awe until a sudden "Hey Raven!" caught her attention. Two Goth boys, about her age and height, approached her; one was pretty muscular, but pale, had two earrings on his left ear and a tattoo of a black dove over his chest. The other was not well built, but seemed rather strong, hair doused with peroxide and a tattoo that said NSFU2 on his right shoulder, both wore black trunks

"Hey Rae" they both said

"Hey D, A.J" replied the half demon, completely forgetting Beast Boy

"Name's BB" said the changeling and reached forwards, both teens shook his hand

"So what're you guys doing here anyway?" questioned Raven

"We saw that these guys were doing a little Pooly-Ball game and were two players short so…" A.J gestured towards the awaiting teens

"Pooly-ball huh? Might if we join?" asked Beast Boy, D shrugged

"Whatever" he replied and started moving his earrings. The four walked towards the nylon mat and scattered to their teams. Beast Boy was teamed with A.J and Raven was with D. A.J took the ball in his hands and threw it into the air

"Let Pooly-Ball Combat, begin" he said and hit the white ball with all of his strength

-

A lone figure walked calmly across the cold dark corridors of Titans' Tower, its long and tattered cape trailing behind it. The figure dashed along the living room and into the living quarters, directly into Robin's room. It knew exactly where to look for what it wanted; a vile filled with a menecinglly red glowing liquid

"Raw Xenothium, just the edge I need over him" said the figure. Its voice was similar to Robin's, but darker, mechanic. With the same speed it came into the room, it dashed out and disappeared into the shadows

-

"Comin' atcha Rae!" screamed Beast Boy and laid down a powerful spike slam, the ball rocketed down towards the nylon platform, a teenage Latina bolted between Raven's opened legs and prevented the ball from touching the bouncing surface by placing her hands between the two, sending the ball into the air

"Mine!" exclaimed Raven and hopped into the air, slamming her hands against the white ball and sending it towards the other side's piece of nylon

"Got it!" yelled a tanned teen with white spiky hair and an Australian accent, jumped up and boomed the ball back to the other side, but from the sheer force of the blow he was blasted into the water and had to climb up to the platform, soaked from water

"Looks like she flushed you out Rocket" taunted the Latina from Raven's team while she positioned herself to hit the ball

"Ah, shut yer pie hole Shilla" spat the Ozzy (A/N: that was not meant to offend any Australians) and moved closer towards the net. The ball bounced from one side to another for another fifteen minutes, the two sides were so caught up in their game that their reflexes became faster with every passing second and spikes weren't even an option. Raven launched the ball high into the air with a powerful punch; the white object started diving towards the other side's nylon platform. Punk Rocket and another teen exchanged glances and nodded.

"Roger that command, I got 'em in my sights" said the teen in an almost metallic voice and jumped from Punk Rocket's shoulders high into the air and towards the ball

"Delivering payload" he slammed the ball with a powerful down-punch that sent the white object diving towards the other side's platform at a crazy speed. Both Raven and the Latina jumped towards the estimated place of the impact, but were too late. The sheer force of the impact sent a ripple that made all of Raven's team, including herself, to drop into the water with loud splashes

"That's a flush-out, team 2 wins!" announced one of the teens who were watching the game. Beast Boy scooted towards Raven's side of the platform and helped her onto it

"Are we having fun or what?" said the changeling and drew a wide smile on his face

"I think I've had enough exercise for one day, I need some RR, stat" replied the half demon. A spark lit up in Beast Boy's eyes

"Well, I saw they have a Jacuzzi somewhere around here, wonna go for a dip?" he suggested with a grin. Raven, who looked like she was ready to keel over just nodded

"_Okay dude, you just managed to get her to go with you, don't blow it!_" screamed Beast Boy's mind.

Upon entering the small Jacuzzi, Raven tried to make herself comfortable in the hot water and pored some bubble soap into it, raising a thick layer of bubbles on top of the water. Beast Boy had a hard time taking his eyes off Raven, she was very good looking and being with her in a Jacuzzi together made him wish the bubbles won't disappear or else he'd be in an awkward situation. His fingers fumbled across the ledge and flipped the water jets on, as a result, Raven jumped up in surprise, splashing stinging soap into the changeling's eyes.

"S…Sorry Beast Boy" she said, getting angry with herself

"It's cool Rae, none got hurt right?" he replied and turned around to wipe his face with a towel

"_Okay Raven, you can do it, prove him that you can have fun to_" she thought and reached for back

"Beast Boy…" she said in a low voice. The changeling finished wiping his face and turned around

"Wha…" his eyes fixated on Raven, she was fully submerged, except her head, and her left hand, which was holding a black piece of fabric. It took him half a second to realize it was Raven's top

"Go fish" she said and dunked her hand into the water.

Author Notes

If the whole Jacuzzi thing sucked, let me know, I have a feeling it does. Anyway, it feels good to write again, I love it and hope you loved this chapter. It took me a long time to write it. Please review.

By the way, did you know that chapter 14(plus the revision) got a grand total of over 70 reviews? It's awesome!

Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy reviewing my chapter

Peace!


	17. Memories, Part I

A word from the author

I HATE WINDOWS! Die Bill friggin' Gates and your damn OS! The whole review I had on my old Win 95 got erased. It took me and the titans a week to write it down. Now we'll just have to write it all over again. But I decided to release chapter 16 first. Enjoy

Disclaimer: If I owned the Teen Titans I'd have enough money to hire a hitman and kill Bill Gates

Chapter sixteen: Memories

The lone figure darted across Titans Tower's dark corridors, past the living quarters, to the elevator. It's grey gloved finger reached out and pressed a glowing red button with a -1 branded on it. The elevator came to life with an electric buzz and started decanting floor by floor. The figure turned around and examined itself in the mirror; the black suit, the dark clad cape, the grey gloves, the white skull mask and the two red X's, one crossing the right eye and the other branded across the chest

"You're dressed to kill" it said to itself. The voice, deep and distorted, bounced across the walls of the elevator until it merged with the electric buzz of the engine.

At long last, the elevator came to a halt, taking the sound of the engine with it. The doors slid open, allowing the figure to slip out, still hidden in the dark shadows. It searched the floor for about fifteen minutes until it came across what it was looking for; a small brown box with the word Grayson branded across the top in golden letters. With steady hands, the figure picked the box off the floor and opened it. Inside it, placed on red velvet, were a 0.44 Desert Eagle pistol and a single magazine. In a single motion, the figure loaded the weapon and slipped it to the back of it's belt

"This ends…" said the figure's distorted voice

"Tonight" mumbled Batman to himself. For the past six months, Red-X has played each and every law enforcing agency in the country for fools. Even without his belt, he and his two counterparts, Silver Fang and Switchblade have mocked and broken into every high security installation, and got away with it every time. Until two months ago, during a carefully planned sting operation, the Justice League was able to apprehend Silver Fang. Three days later, they caught Switchblade, trying to break her boyfriend out of jail. Red-X got away both times, right under their noses. Batman hated loose ends, and the call from chief Cosgrove was just what he needed to get his team to help him.

"One simple bust and we'll be on our way home" muttered Flash to himself. In response, Batman grabbed the human bullet by the collar and banged the back of his head against the steel hull of the jet

"Don't even _think_ that way" he hissed "Red-X isn't just another thief, he's a dangerous menace that needs to be stopped"

"True" said Wonder Woman "And by Harrah, he will be stopped"

"She's got a point Bruce" added Superman, immediately catching Batman's attention "We've dealt with him before, and we'll deal with him-"

"Note a correction Superman" interrupted the black knight "We've dealt with him when he didn't have his belt. Trust me, there's more to that thing that a fashion accessory" he took a long breath "When fueled with a proper amount of Xenothium, the belt, combined with the Red-X suit, gives it's wearer complete access to the Red-X weapon systems"

"Weapons or no weapons, we'd better stop him before three A.M, there's a monster truck marathon that I just can't miss" mumbled Flash

"Why you-" raged Batman

"HEY MACHO MEN!" screamed Hawk Girl. Seeing the entire attention was devoted to her, she continued

"I got a lock on a moving source of Xenothium radiation inside Steel City, signature shows 550 RAD"

"550?" Batman sounded surprised "That means he's fully charged" he rubbed his chin and seemed lost in thoughts "_This is going to be harder than I thought_" he thought. Though a bit shook up, he was still able to think reasonably, and his mind had a trap already cooking up inside it.

"Hawk Girl" he finally said "Plot a course to the Steel City- Metropolis highway. We'll get him just like we got Silver Fang" the alien girl complied, and the jet took a dive towards an empty side road. Upon landing, the members of the Justice League, save Batman, scattered along key locations across the interstate, and awaited the black Viper to run across them

"Everyone in position?" asked Superman

"Affirmative" said J'ohn Jones

"Ready and waiting" replied the Green lantern

"More than ready" answered both Wonder Woman and Hawk Girl

"Whatever" answered Flash dully

"I'll get the Batmobile in position" said Batman and broke contact

The Black Viper took a sharp left, into a narrow dark ally, tripping a couple of black garbage cans on its way. Three police cars that were following it were forced to take turns in entering the ally, and because they were much larger than the slick Viper, they drove much slower in the ally. When he reached the end of the ally; Red-X sought out another onramp, or a sharp turn, anything that would give him a certain edge over the police cars. On the freeway, he was able to easily outrun them, but inside the narrow streets, it was much harder to maintain that advantage.

"An onramp, an onramp, my kingdom for an onramp" he mumbled and took a right turn, the three squad cars close behind him

"There!" exclaimed Starfire and pointed at a road which was marked at the Metropolis onramp. X slammed the brakes and twisted the steering wheel to the right. The car preformed a near on spot 180 turn with a horrible screech noise. When X hit the accelerator, the car blasted towards the turn and slipped between two cars on its way. The police cars tried to perform the exact maneuver; one of them spun out of control and slammed against a lamppost with its side, the other two cars kept track of the Viper and zoomed after it.

"That was close" said Starfire and wiped beads of sweat off her forehead

"Yeah, but it was fun" replied X and looked at her. Even though she had night vision goggles on, he saw her eyes were fixated on something else than him, something _behind_him. Quickly turning around, a peculiar sight was revealed to him; it was a man, about his age, maybe older, he was wearing a red body suit, with a head cover, and two lightning shaped curls coming out of the assumed place of his ears, and two lightning shaped yellow stripes from his shoulders down, the man was pretty muscular, but wasn't what interested Red-X. The man was _running _at the same speed as his car

"Hi" said the man and waved towards X

"Uh, hi" returned the vigilante

"Nice mask, did you make it yourself?" asked the speeding man

"You might say that" replied X, the man chuckled

"You're a funny one; tell you what, since you got such a sweet ride, let's drag, if you win, I won't come after ya, if I win, you turn yourself in, deal?" A mean spark lit up in X's masked eyes

"Deal" he replied

"Tell you what, you'll even get a five seconds head-start, whoever gets to Metropolis first wins, GO!" X slammed the Nitro trigger on his steering wheel. The car responded instantly to the injection of the volatile gas and rocketed forward at an insane speed.

"_Think Vince. THINK! You only got five seconds to think up a plan before Rocket Boy back there picks up the pace_" raced the thought inside X's mind. His thought drifted to every run-in he had with the Justice League, Teen Titans or the "_Titans East!_" two mental fingers snapped inside X's mind. He remembered how he managed to run from the Titans East's speeding twins; Mas Y Menos.

Five seconds were long gone, and, as both Red-X and Flash expected, it didn't take too long before the man in red uniform came to X's window to taunt him, just as X planned.

"Guess your ride isn't as fast as you thought huh?" mocked the human bullet

"I guess so" replied the vigilante with a chuckle "But I'm pretty glad I'm racing against you and not those Mas Y Menos guys"

"Oh yeah? Why's that?" Flash sounded suspicious, Red-X should've been terrified by now, seeing that he is about to be captured

"'Cause the only thing funnier than those two midgets speedsters smeared all over the highway is one big speedster doing it" with that, the vigilante's palm produced an X that wrapped itself around the human bullet's legs like a boa, sending him crashing against the asphalt. From the sheer force of the impact, Flash bounced off the road several times, before starting to roll uncontrollably on the black asphalt

"How's that for a drag race, cutie?" asked X. In response, Starfire let out a small giggle

"I do not know, but perhaps you should ask Flash, he is 'dragging' back there" now it was X's turn to chuckle

"Did you just make a joke?" he asked in surprise

"I guess I did" she replied. A moment of silence passed between them, and was interrupted by the sound of sirens

"These guys again?" shouted X. Starfire looked back and was struck by shock

"Uh…Red-X? I think we are, as you say, in deep droppings" she sounded terrified

"What're you talking about?" he asked and stared at the video screen. It showed fifteen squad cars, lead by an odd looking black car, with bat-wing shaped fins and what seemed to be a cockpit. Above the weird car flew five people, Red-X identified them; the Justice league

"You've gotta be kidding me!" he screamed at the windshield

"I believe your dash board is a bad joke teller" commented Starfire. She looked to her left, although covered with a mask, she could almost feel Red-X's fear, and see it in his masked eyes

"No sweat X, you were prepared for this to happen, you'll just use plan B" he said to himself, uncertain if it was supposed to calm Starfire, or him

"Do you have a plan B for anything?" she asked

"Yeah, and they always work" he replied

"Except for that one time at Chang's observatory, correct?"

"Okay, they work most of time" he said and tightened his grip on the steering wheel "_I just hope this is a part of that time_" he thought

"Lower Beast Boy, lower…Oh, there, there, right there…That's the spot…" said Raven in a low voice and groaned with pleasure. Beast Boy's head popped out of the water with an all around surprised look on his face

"Jeez Raven, relax, it's just a back rub" he said

"Obviously you never had an octopus rubbing your back, those spare six tentacles really make a difference you know" she returned in a dreamy voice, turned around and leaned against the ledge of the Jacuzzi. Beast Boy stared at her naked back; there was something about her grayish pale skin that attracted him. He drove those thoughts away and joined her, leaning next to her, and being very careful about fixating his eyes on her face. He pushed a button that made the lights dim in a manner that made the room seem as though it was lit by candles, and an old love tune started playing in the background

"Ya'know something Rae?" he started "Being here with this atmosphere, the lights, the music, the warm water…"

"My breasts" she added sarcastically

"Hey!" he splashed some water on her "I didn't come here just to see you naked! _It was just a big side bonus_" he added with a whisper

"You know I heard that" she said and splashed water on him

"Yeah, what of it?" came his reply, along with a splash of hot water

"You want war? You got it!" she used both her hands to generate a wall of water, and sent it towards Beast Boy's face. Seeing the expression oh his face made he burst into a wave of laughter

"Torpedoes away! Fire one!" he said in a voice that made him sound like those submarine commanders in the war movies he like so much and used his leg to hurl a tidal wave of water towards Raven, which made her laughing even louder

"Admiral, they're coming off port bow!" she said between her fits of laughter and released quick bursts of water to Beast Boy's face

"Release the mind controlled squid!" he exclaimed, wend underwater and began attacking Raven's waist and stomach, which only contributed to her hysterics. After twenty minutes of intense naval (A/N: caught the pun back there?) warfare, Raven gave up her attempts of defending her ticklish stomach and waist with her ands and raised them defensively

"I give!" she let out between one fit of laughter to the other. Beast Boy ended his merciless onslaught, rose from below the water and saluted

"The allies win again!" he said and saluted

"Allies?" asked Raven while trying to catch her breath "I thought I was the allies"

"Is that argument I hear?" teased the changeling and wiggled his fingers in the air. Raven let out a quick burst of "No's"

"I've had enough laughing to last a centaury" she added and closed her eyes a bit. When she opened them, she saw Beast Boy's face was very close to hers, and a dazed look in his eyes

"What are you doing?" she asked

"Making you sign your submission charter" he replied. Raven razed an eyebrow

"You know that to do that, the allies had to drop two nukes on Japan right?" she asked again. Beast Boy placed both his hands on her shoulders

"Boom" he said and kissed her. The kiss came to its abrupt ending about three minutes after it began. The door burst open and in came Punk Rocket, Cyborg and Lisa. Raven screamed and submerged with only her head sticking out of the water, Beast Boy, in one lightning fast maneuver, snatched Raven's top off the surface and handed it to the half-demon underwater

"What're you two doing here? Haven't you heard the news!" exclaimed Cyborg, not noticing Raven and Beast Boy's condition

"Dude, does it look like we've been watching the news?" raged the changeling

"Well you should've" added Lisa. Only afterwards did she notice Beast Boy and Raven's position, and felt the awkwardness creeping up on her. Cyborg held out his palm towards one of the walls, and an image of a certain car chase appeared. Raven and Beast Boy both examined the hologram with interest

"X?" asked Beast Boy. Cyborg nodded

"…Authorities claim to have the runaway criminal, known only as Red-X on the run, along with his accomplice, a female known as Agent Orange. We have second lieutenant Edmond Duke on the line. Mr. Duke, what can you…"

"Agent Orange?" Raven shook her head in disbelief "It couldn't be"

"What?" asked Beast Boy

"Forget it" she replied, but still, her suspicious mind didn't let go. She grabbed her communicator and turned it on

"Star? Starfire, come in" she said. The video screen started going static and finally came to life, displaying Starfire's forever curious face

"Raven? Is that you?" she asked

"Star, where are you" shot Raven. Starfire looked around

"Well, I believe I am somewhere on the Steel-City Metropolis highway a-"

"You're Agent Orange!" she screamed, nearly blowing Starfire's eardrums. Five grey fingers grabbed the communicator, a quick smear of dark colors, and Raven stood, so to say, face to face with Red-X

"Relax Rae, I'll bring her back by morning without a scratch" he said calmly

"X?" Raven sounded surprised "You do realize half of the state's police are after you right?"

"Just like good old times" he said and terminated the transmission.

"We should head back to the tower, they might go there if things get too dicey" suggested Cyborg

"Good idea" agreed Lisa. Beast Boy helped Raven out of the water and they all left the Swim-O'-Rama hall. Raven flew Lisa back to the Tower and Beast Boy, who morphed into a pterodactyl, helped Cyborg back

"…As you can clearly see on your screens, Red-X is trying once again to squirm his way between the fingers of the long arm of the law. The police and the Justice League are on his tail, and, in this reporter's opinion, it's about time this low-life goes behind bars where he… Excuse me" Felix O'Malley reached for the pocket of his suit and withdrew a cell phone

"Caller number one, you're on the air" said the reporter

"Uh…yeah, I'd like two large pizzas, low on the pepperoni, a bottle of coke, and go heavy on the olives" Felix recognized the voice, it was Red-X

"Witty as ever X" he said with a chuckle "I just hope Tank, your cellmate, likes witty guys too" X burst into a fit of distorted laughter

"Come on Felix" he said, still trying to stop laughing "Don't be mad at me 'cause my hair is still real" The reporter slammed his hand against his long brown mullet and his cameraman zoomed in on his brown hair, chuckling to himself

"I…I don't know what you're talking about" he said with a trembling voice. The windshield of Felix's broadcasting van was penetrated by a lone X throwing star, the weapon made its way past the driver and snatched the wig right off the reporter's head, pinning it against the backdoor of the truck

"Low-Life this, O'Malley!" screamed X's voice through the phone. The cameraman, still having his lenses zoomed sharply on Felix's bald head, smiled to himself

"Live to the world baby" he grinned.

Author's Note

Due to my painful condition (broken right arm), I decided to split these two chapters into a four chapter saga (Yeah, Right) 'cause it's so damn painful. Kids, never go skateboarding without proper protective gear, FOR REAL! You'll save yourselves a lot of pain. I already have the next two chapters written down so typing them should be a hell lot shorter than all of my previous chapters. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, remember to review!

The wingless Raven

So long.

This is RavenOnline's sister, StarfireOnline. He told me that he saw some of you didn't like the way he writes Star/X parts. DEAL WITH IT! Oh, and, just for you to know, the next three chapters are completely revolving around Red-X, so if you don't like him, you better not read them

Bye for now


	18. A Hero's Demise, Memories part II

Finally got that arm of mine in order. Guess what time it is? That's right…Chapter seventeen! A warning in advance, this chapter contains no fluff and is all around boring. Read at your own risk

Disclaimer: My hitman abandoned me; I'll have to kill Bill Gates myself

Chapter Seventeen: A Hero's Demise (Memories part II)

"Would you like another cup of tea, sir?" echoed Wintergreen's deep voice through the main chamber of Slade's lair. The lair itself, as usual, concealed underground, was darker than usual on this day, or so Wintergreen thought. The past few hours were frightening to him; his master had returned to his place of solitude, with an expression of _happiness_ on his face. This made the butler concerned; the last time Slade had this expression, he led a poor young girl to her untimely death, through a path of pain, betrayal and suffering, both physical and mental.

"Yes Wintergreen" came the mastermind's reply, shaking the old man out of his cobweb of thoughts "You may also leave the tray here, that is all for today" he continued.

"Thank you sir" said Wintergreen, placed the silver tray on his master's worktable and left the small room, and as he left, and even in his umpteenth sleepless night, he couldn't help wondering

"_Who will be the one to suffer on this night?_"

(Teen Titans!)-

Slade took a careful look at the cup in front of him, carefully examining the color and texture of the liquid inside the small china container. He then proceeded into flipping his mask, and slowly sipping the warm tea, mentally purring as the carefully mixed blend of flavors hit his taste buns.

After he was done drinking his tea, Slade returned to the eastern wall of the main chamber; the wall was completely made of video monitors, keeping an eye on every part of the city. He looked at one which showed Red-X's car driving dangerously close to oncoming traffic, dodging incoming and ongoing cars at crazy speeds

"_Hopeless_" he thought. Red-X was nothing more than a mouse moving through a maze, but at the end of the maze, a cobra was awaiting. Tonight, Slade was about to unveil his most cunning scheme yet, allowing two young teens to fight each other to the death, without any reason. It didn't matter who would lose in this battle, Slade would still win

"_As always_" he said to himself, examining monitors displaying other locations. Tonight, this will all end.

Tonight

(Teen Titans!)-

He knew what he was doing is wrong, it was all wrong; nothing went as he planned, nothing. He was trying to make best of a lost battle, already knowing that even if he keeps on driving, he'll never be able to outrun his pursuers, they'll keep chasing him, but it didn't bother him, what did bother him was the young girl sitting next to him; she was one of the good guys, a do-gooder that represented all he had hated for so many years, normally, he wouldn't care any less about her, but he knew what he was doing was _wrong_. He threw her into a life of crime, made her one of his people. That's what made him keep going, he wouldn't let her be captured by them. She didn't deserve a punishment for something she didn't do.

The wheels inside X's masked head kicked in, neurons firing up, he had nothing to go on, no fundamental basis for his plan, but it was all he had. He knew it was a long shot, but he had to try it. With his left hand, he pulled a small keyboard from beneath the dashboard and typed a short command line, hearing the release of gas from the tanks behind him, he knew the changes he made were successful. Now it was all up to luck. He flipped on the video channel on the dashboard; the screen again displaying Chief Cosgrove grumpy face

"Cosgrove" began X, trying to sound menacing "I warn you, tell your boys to back off me or-"

"Or else what, X?" asked the police chief, a slight edge of amusement in his voice

"Or I'll do something we'll all regret. I warn you"

"You're bluffing X, I can see it in your eyes" he said. The vigilante gulped, Cosgrove was right, he was having second thoughts, if there was a name he could name is plan, it would be "A blueprint for disaster"

"_The heck with it all_" said his brain. Red-X tightened his fingers on the steering wheel and placed two thumbs over the Nitro triggers, his eyes narrowed down dangerously

"Watch me" he said and pressed the triggers. The volatile Nitrous Oxide gas made it's way through the venting tubes and into the engine, generating a tremendous chemical reaction that produced a powerful burst of speed that sent the black Viper screaming towards the Metropolis access ramp; a busy intersection

"What's he doing!" screamed Superman

"He's mad!" added Green Lantern

"He's insane!" threw Hawk-Girl

"He's mine" said Batman and kicked in the turbine engine. The Batmobile reacted and sprinted after the Viper, heading towards the same junction.

"What are you doing!" screamed Starfire, obviously scared, to her, Red-X's actions seemed insane, as if he was trying to get himself killed

"Relying on our friends from the police, cutie" he replied, trying to sound calm "Cosgrove probably figured out my bluff so he sent a squad car to flank me. If everything works as planned, you'll be able to see some fireworks"

"And if it does not?" she asked

"Then we're the fireworks" he replied. The Viper jumped into the intersection, cutting between a river of cars coming sideways, the Batmobile not far behind. The last sound Batman heard that night was the sound of metal crushing against metal. As X thought, the police car made its way to intercept his own, but he was going too fast for the old-fashion squad car to get him. Instead, it collided against the Batmobile, igniting the High-Octane fuel inside the turbine engine. Resulting a horrible explosion.

"BATMAN!" screamed Starfire, a scream of pain and agony. She grabbed X's arm and began jolting it forward and backward, sobbing

"Why have you done this!" she cried, tears running from her eyes "Why have you killed the Batman?" Red-X let out a lengthy sigh

"It was either him or us" he finally said

"You are wrong!" she exclaimed, tears in her masked eyes "The Batman is a warrior of good and he would never-"

"You don't know ANYTHING!" he snapped into a scream, taking the young girl aback with small watery trails down her cheeks. He gripped the steering wheel harder and Starfire could swear she heard a distorted sob

"You don't know nothing…" he repeated, this time in an almost-whisper. She paused for a moment

"What do I not know, Red-X?" she finally asked. He turned his head towards her and stared at her with a look that could kill. His eyes narrowed down to resemble two small cuts in the skull mask. Again, his lungs produced a long sigh during which his eyes softened

"It's a long story" he said, his voice having an unusual sad tone to it "Are you sure you want to hear it?" she nodded.

"Well okay" he began "It was four years ago, when I was still fifteen. Gotham City was more corrupted than ever, if you didn't any connections, you would fall in between the seats. As a last effort, me and…And my big brother, Brian, turned to crime" he paused for a second "He was a good man" he said with another sob. Starfire's heart flinched

"Was?" she asked

"Yeah, was" he replied. And it's all because of _him_"

**March 2001, Gotham's First National Bank**

The small brown car was parked in front of the bank, it was late, maybe nine or ten P.M. inside the car were four people, three adults and a teenager. All three adults had black sock-hats over their heads, being used as masks, they wore black jackets, blue jeans and held an array of submachine guns. The teenager, who was sitting in front of the steering wheel, was dressed like the three adults, only his sock hat was still on top of his head, revealing neck long curly brown hair, narrow face features and two plain brown eyes

"Are you sure it's safe Brian?" asked the teenager. One of the men turned to him

"I thought you liked living on the edge, Vince" he said and gave his young brother a pad on the shoulder. "You just worry about driving us out of here when we're done okay? Quit toying with that!" he exclaimed when he saw the teen examining the black pistol placed on the dashboard in front of him.

"Let's go" said one of the adults. The other two nodded and left the car, leaving the youth alone with his thoughts.

Minutes came, and minutes past. Fear was creeping up on the teen with every passing second, until he heard a window break, followed by numerous gunshots. He stepped out of the car and ran inside the bank, horror struck him. Two of the adults were lying on the floor, passed out, or dead, he couldn't tell. His eyes focused on the figure in front of him; dark, with a long, zigzagged cape, the long pointy ears and the bat shaped sign on his chest. Only his brother was left standing, and he had his gun pointed towards the figure, until it disappeared in a smokescreen. The gun in Brian's hand went ballistic, firing into the layer of smoke, round after round. It was then when the teen noticed the figure was standing _behind his older brother_. He cried "Brian!" but it was in vain. The dark warrior placed his hands over the robber's face, a deathly expression on his face

"He snapped his neck bone right in front of my face. I swear to you, he was enjoying it, I saw it in his eyes"

"I..I am so sorry, I did not know" she mumbled between her sobs. X laughed bitterly

"They all told me it wasn't Batman, that it was an imposter" he laughed again, a hybrid between a chuckle and a sob escaped his lips

"It couldn't have been" he said and continued "I'm ending this night right now, I got what I wanted, even if it wasn't planned, but now it's time to call it a night" he took a sharp left turn, towards the city's sewer decontamination center

"Once we get to the de-con center, you follow me to the escape bikes, get on the right one, and follow the GPS map back to the tower, got it?" she nodded

"But what about you?" she asked, afraid of the answer

"Don't worry about me, cutie, I'll manage. Just remember to get on the right bike okay?"

"Why is it so important I get on the right one?" she asked

"Because it's equipped with a cloaking generator, you'll be able to sneak past them with no problem"

**MetropolisCity's Sewage Decontamination Center. 2:36 A.M**

The Viper rumbled to a halt next to the barbed wire fence of the large building, raising dark clouds of dust as it did. The moment X and Starfire stepped out of the car, they were hit by the stench. God it was awful, like an outhouse blew up or something in that matter. X slid a disc shaped object beneath the car, an electric engine went online, and the car disappeared in midair, turning to a mass of undergrowth and bushes.

"Follow me" said the vigilante and presses the center of his belt; the Xenothuim power core kicked in, the unstable chemical acting like a particle accelerator, speeding up X's molecules beyond measured speeds. He disappeared into a black shimmer, now not traveling in the realm of solid, liquid and gas, but a molecular leveled world; he traveled through the fence and reappeared in a black blur, molecules rearranging in proper order. Starfire simply hopped the fence, literally jumping above the metal barrier and landing besides Red-X. Without a word, the masked thief bolted towards the drainage pools, the area which is used to collect sewer water and run them through numerous filters. She picked off after him, not knowing where she is headed

"I hope you can swim" he told her and stood in front of a huge drainage pool, there was an at least nine feet drop towards the murky water

"We'll have to do some dirty swimming and reach the closed tunnels. From there, you'll take the bike until you reach the T-ship's launch pad" he told her and prepared to jump

"How do you know all of that?" she asked him. It amazed her that he knew so much about traveling the underground systems

"Because that's how I stole the suit in the first place" he said and jumped off the ledge, hitting the water with a loud _splash_. Starfire took a second look at the water and jumped off.

The moment she was in, she saw the end of X's cape going underwater, she followed him, using the black trail of his cape as an indicator of his progress. To her luck, Tamaranians did not need to breathe much and were able to hold their breath for days, some tell of Glorthrob The All Seeing who could hold his breath for years and years. X on the other hand, was having a hard time, his lungs were on fire, muscles aching due to lack of oxygen to fuel them, but he kept on going. It wasn't long before they surfaced from under the green water. X barely dragged himself to the cement pipe, taking in deep breaths. Starfire on the other hand, did not seem to notice the prolonged lack of oxygen.

"Okay" he said, making it to his feet, squeezing the bad smelling liquid off his cape "We better get to the bikes before-"

"Here they are!" he heard a female scream

"Go cutie, GO!" he screamed and got on one of the black custom made racing bikes, Starfire rushed towards the other one

"Blue button sets the cloak on, GO!" he once again screamed. Starfire's bike came to life and with a loud roar, bolted towards the opposing tunnel, then vanished out of sight. X jumped on his bike; the machine came to life with a roar. He gunned the accelerator and, using his leg, turned the bike a hundred-eighty degrees on the spot with a deafening screech and set out towards his pressures.

He drove towards the remaining members of the Justice league "_This is suicide!_" his brain screamed, but he put the organ on mute and kept going down the tunnel. A second or two passed, there they were, all flying. He couldn't hear them over the sound of the engine, but he saw the pointing towards his bike. All five dived towards him, like vultures on their pray, getting closer and closer. In a moment's flash, he gunned the bike and shifted his weight sideways, now riding horizontally across the drain pipe, he roared past them at an insane speed, and kept on going. He knew it was just a matter of time before they caught him, but he had to buy Starfire enough time to get away. Suddenly, over the loud roar of the engine, he heard something, it was distant, but he could hear it awfully clear; a battle cry. He turned around and was struck in shock; Hawk Girl was flying towards him, her flail in hand and sparkling with the massive electric current running inside it. Instincts took over; he turned the accelerator half way through, forcing a lot of fuel to the engine, and then gunned it. The sudden blast of power popped the bike's front wheel up and sent it blasting forward, towards a huge turn. The bike went horizontal again, riding along the bank of the bike and completing a turn. He kept on going further into the tunnel until he saw a room shaped structure ahead; a drainage bank. A voice shattered his ears; something cutting through the air. He turned around and the flying flail struck his bike, sending both it and X airborne. The vigilante tangled in midair and was caught by Wonder Woman's lasso; she was standing inside the room shaped structure, not too far from her comrades who were behind him. She pulled again, reeling X towards her like a caught fish

(A/N: WARNING: Major spin offs from the episode "X" ahead!)

"Got you now!" she exclaimed as she pulled him closer to her. X saw an opening in her defenses, a grin spread on his masked face

"Think again" he said and grabbed the bare skin of her arm firmly. A massive energy discharge went through her body, glowing crimson energy crackled from her body like evil knives, stabbing her nerve endings again and again. She screamed in pain and her grab of the lasso loosened. X used that time and pushed himself away from her, getting the lasso off him and holstering it on the side of his belt. Out of pure rage, he hit the Amazon's side with a roundhouse kick, sending her crashing towards the mucky ground

"Harrah…" she started, placing her entire weight on her legs and elbows, trying to get up "Give me-" a gooey X plastered itself on her mouth, acting like a gag

"You talk too much" he said. Another battle cry came to his ears; he leapt away sideways, just to avoid a hit from a giant neon green fist that smashed the ground, leaving a fist shaped crater in it.

The Green Lantern charged towards him, his ring firing green blasts like a machine gun. X leapt backwards, not being hit by any of the energy blasts. He quickly turned sideways, to avoid a hit by Hawk Girl's flail, then dropped to the ground and swept her off her feet with a low sweep kick. Looking up, he saw a blue fist, diving towards his skull. He rolled aside, allowing Superman to dig his fist into the ground, then jumped on his back and used it as a trampoline to reach behind the Green Lantern and bury his boot's sole in his back. The Ex-Marine staggered forward and fell on his face. X ran and jumped high into the air, coming in with a powerful dive kick towards Superman's chest

"_He's not that strong, everyone knows that_" he thought while in midair. It was like hitting solid steel. He used it as a platform and back flipped on his feet. Facing the Man of Steel's glare, X didn't think twice and punched him in the face; again, it was like hitting steel

"Eh, figures" he let out before Superman's fist buried itself into his stomach; it exploded with pain and the vigilante was sent flying towards the opposing wall. Impact, a supernova of pain lit up inside his head, a white explosion of pain. He blinked twice and then saw Hawk Girl diving towards him. He rolled aside, avoiding the fatal blow. His hand produced a series of X shaped throwing stars, which he threw towards the recovering alien girl; vanishing her into a violent series of explosions that lit up the dark room

"Shiera!" screamed the already recovered Ex-Marine and stormed towards X with his bare hands. Red-X teleported and the Green lantern was pasted against a wall, being held by a huge red X. Red walked beside him casually

"And I'll take than" he said as he removed the guardian's ring from his finger and placed it on his

"Nah, it collides against the color of my eyes" he said, threw the object on the floor and stomped it with his boot

"My RING!" exclaimed the Green Lantern and struggled against his restrains, in vain.

X ran past Superman, who was helping J'ohn Jones, who was hit by the explosions, got on his scraped bike, or what's left of it, and rode back towards the tower.

**The T-Ship's Launch Pad, 3:15 A.M**

"_Sweet redemption, I'm alive_!"sang X's mind. He climbed a ladder to get inside the tower's premises. Next to the ladder he found Starfire's bike, she got there just as he expected. All around an action packed night for him. Inside the launch pad, he found Starfire. They both walked towards the living room, where they found all the other titans,except Robin. They were all standing in a semi circle, watching them

"Friends!" screamed Starfire and flew towards them, still in her Agent Orange uniform, she grabbed Raven and hugged her "I had such an exciting day!" she exclaimed

"Told ya I'll get her back in one piece" said X and crashed on the couch. Beast Boy sniffed the air

"Dudes!" he exclaimed, flapping his hand in front of his nose "You stink! Where have you two been!"

"Long story, I'll tell you it all in the morning, but right now, I'm going to take a shower and sleep for a solid ten hours" replied X

"**You're not going ANYWHERE!**" Boomed a distorted voice through the tower's broadcast system. X immediately rose from the couch, to a battle stance

"Who's gonna stop me?" he snarled, obviously not intimidated

"I am" said the voice. This time it was more quite, like it was coming from inside the room. The deep, distorted voice was indeed somewhere in the room, but no one spotted its source

"And _who_ are you if I may ask?" X sounded plainly annoyed; he wasn't going to let a voice creep him out

"X" said the voice. A figure appeared from thin air and stepped out of the shadows.

"Red X"

Author's notes

Sorry about the lack of fluff, I had strange action scenes trapped in my head for weeks now and I just had to write them down. So how was the chapter? Did you like it? Hated it? Didn't even read it?

In case you're interested, the review chapter is going great, way faster than expected, I should release it before the next chapter will be released.

Speaking of the next chapter, I should warn you, it will be surprisingly short, for a good reason, trust me, I know what I'm doing (No I don't). Anyway, to all of the fluff fans, it'll be coming back two chapters from now.

Remember to review!

Peace!

Oh, one last thing, I need your opinion on the action scene, was it good? Thanks!


	19. Weapon X, Memories part III

It's good to see you people still enjoy reading my story; you don't how much does it mean to a young author like myself.

Disclaimer: never owned the Teen Titans

Chapter Eighteen: Weapon-X, Memories Part III

_"And who are you if I may ask?" X sounded plainly annoyed; he wasn't going to let a voice creep him out_

_"X" said the voice. A figure appeared from thin air and stepped out of the shadows. _

_"Red X"_

Red-X stared at his opponent with certain awe; the man, it was a man, X could tell, was wearing a suit much like his own; the black, slick, skin tight fabric, the two X's on the chest and the skull mask, the skull mask itself, and to top it all, the tattered cape. There were some noticeable differences though; the opponent's suit looked more crude, the skull mask was rigid at some points, the eye slits darker, not normally white like Red's, the cape itself was an exact replica, except a huge red X, like the one on the chest, painted all over it and X could notice some red lines, traveling all over the suit, like blood vessels.

"So…" he started, mind still a bit on the fuzz "Are you…the president of my fan club or something?" the opponent cackled, it didn't sound…right, it was evil, to an extent used only by Slade

"_Idiot_" it spat "To you, I'm the Grim Reaper"

"The Grim Reaper?" X looked lost in thought "Isn't that a rock group from-"

"SHUT UP!" exploded the opponent "Your fast mouth won't get you out of this one" he leaned forward, muscles tensing inside the combat suit, and charged.

The attack was lightning fast, X didn't even see it coming, and two fists slammed themselves into his temples. X staggered back, but quickly recovered; he grabbed the adversary's shoulders, and slammed his own forehead into his. The two masks collided in a blunt _thump_ sound; using his momentary advantage, X jabbed his boot deep into his opponent's stomach, sending him back towards the main doors. The man came back at X with a mind bending speed, but the trick didn't work on X the second time, as he ducked under the two crushing fists and sent a low sweep kick that took his opponent of his feet and onto the floor.

"You're just what I knew you were, an amateur" said the opponent, still flat on his back

"Looks like it's good enough to take you down" replied the vigilante at the same mocking tone. Without warning, the opponent lashed a red whip of energy that sent X crashing into the sofa, he tumbled back, across the cushions and whacked his head against the table

"I'd hate to be melodramatic and all…" he said as he got up, right hand clutched to a fist "But…" His right hand opened in a spring-like manner, revealing a handful of red X shaped throwing stars "There can be only one!" in what seemed to be no time, he wound his arm back and then forth, flinging the deadly Xenothium weapons with deadly accuracy. In a split second, the opposing Red-X withdrew his backhand X blades and deflected the throwing stars with ease

"Better be careful with those" mocked X "you'll poke someone's eye out"

"Yeah, _yours_" he replied with a tone filled with disgust.

X placed both forearms in front of his face, as if to protect himself

"I think it's time we kicked it up a notch" he said and threw his arms back, also revealing the two X rotor blades. Without words, the two masked warriors charged at each other, blades colliding and emitting sparks that flew all over titans tower. X swept low, aiming a lethal slice to the man's midsection, but he was cut off by the red crisscross blades, _slicing _through his own like nothing. The vigilante was so shocked he didn't even try to stop the smashing kick that sent him again towards the sofa.

"How did you do that!" he exclaimed as he examined the remains of his right hand blade; two of the four ends were cut off and dissolved once hitting the floor

"That's for you to find OUT!" he leapt into the air and came diving down, blades first. X saw it coming and rolled aside, only to be cut by the left blade, a long gash was opened across his back, through his cape. His nerve ending fired up, sending clear messages of pain to him mind. In a single move, he flipped back to his feet and leapt high into the air and came down with his most recognized move; the diving kick. The opponent was well prepared for the attack and rolled aside as well, dodging the powerful foot that smashed into the floor. X's eyes widened in fear; the blade was coming right towards him. He bent down backwards, anything that was above the legs bent back, X could feel the gash in his back now, burning like acid. The blade went over his head. That was his chance; he grabbed the man's right arm and tossed him over his shoulder, towards the big screen T.V. Collision, shards of glass flew all over. The opponent stepped out of the large hole, pat of his mask was torn, revealing lightly tanned skin

"I _knew _it was you" hissed X

"Well then, I guess I won't be needing this anymore" he said and took off his mask

"No!" screamed Raven

"Not again!" exclaimed Beast Boy

"You've gotta be kidding me" said Cyborg and Lisa in unison

"Robin!" screamed Starfire. The Titans felt horrible, their blood ran cold in their veins as they saw their leader once again in the Red-X suit. Robin didn't look like himself; two bloody trails were stretched from his eyes down and a stain of dried blood was noticed on his forehead

"Kid, no matter what hormone breakout you're going through, you better snap out of it" hissed X, he sounded angry, his tone unclear and rising on occasions

"The only thing that'll be snapped here today _Slade_" the blades on Robin's backhands began spinning "Is you" he lounged forward at X, blades first with a battle cry. X grabbed him by the shoulders, went flat on his back, and sent him flying towards the other end of the room with a little help from his two feet. Robin skated along the floor and charged again, X quickly drew a replacing X blade. The two weapons collided with a horrible _CLING_. The two warriors were sent back by the sheer force of the blow

"Robin! You must listen! The Red-X is not Slade!" exclaimed Starfire. X turned his eyes towards her

"Let him think that way Star" he said and returned his look to Robin, his eyes narrowed to two slits in the skull mask "I've waited for this opportunity for a good long time"

"Then come and get me" returned Robin and retracted his X blades

"With pleasure" X leapt into the air and came down with another dive kick. Robin swerved sideways and then popped up to X's side, sending a punch towards him. X raised his left forearm to block the attack out of instinct. The clash between the two limbs was followed by a sickening sound of a bone snapping in two. With his right hand, X grabbed the point of the impact, growling in pain. He took a kick to the stomach that sent him towards the eastern wall of the living room. He fell face flat on the floor, balls of pain exploding in his stomach

"How did you do that?" he asked in a muffled voice

"Simple" started Robin "This is not the Red-X suit you saw, Slade, this is the original version, Red-X Alpha. It doesn't use the refined Xenothium yours use, instead; it uses raw Xenothium to power more weapons and strength and speed enhancers. There was a reason I didn't use it back then, according to tests, it has a ninety five percent of causing a fatality"

"Fatality this" said X and lounged at him like a tiger, fists forward

"You'll never learn" mocked Robin and readied his fists. He threw the punch at X's incoming form, only to him a black blur. Even before turning around, he took a kick to the back of his knee than sent him falling down. Propelled by inertia, Robin's body kept turning around, only to be hit by a powerful roundhouse kick that sent him crashing into the armchair, falling behind it. His head popped up from behind the tumbled furniture, only to see the white skull on Red-X's sole crashing towards his face, he tried moving sideways, too late, the kick hit dead on target, smashing the Boy Wonder's nose and sending him to the ground. He got up with rage, nostrils flaring, face red, partially from anger, part from blood.

"Robin, you gotta listen to me" said Cyborg, trying to reason with his leader "He's not Slade! Wake up man!"

"Stay out of this!" raged the hero. He directed his palm towards the titans, and soon, they were all stuck to the wall by red X's

"You got no one to hide behind now, Slade, you're mine!" exclaimed the Boy Wonder and stormed X. the attack was lightning fast, the vigilante never stood a chance, over taken by a flash kick to the guts, he staggered backwards, another kick, and another punch, and then, came the punch to the ribs; the wind was knocked out of X's body and he felt at least two ribs break in half, snapping like twigs under the power of the blow. He fell to his knees, trying to catch a breath, it hurt him to breathe, supporting himself with one arm; he saw Robin charging again. X tried to move, but his body refused, still too aching to obey his brain, and then came the kick, it smashed against the middle of his ribcage, he coughed up blood on the inside of the skull mask.

Flat on his back, X could do nothing more than to cough up more blood from his bruised lungs, and then came the boot, stomping his ribcage. X's body jolted upwards in a convulsion of pain.

"You're killing him, man!" screamed Cyborg

"Not yet, I'm not" He said and placed one boot on X's stomach. He reached with his right hand behind his belt and pulled out the weapon; a 0.44 Desert Eagle pistol

"Robin, NO!" exclaimed Raven "You've proven to be the better fighter, don't do it!"

"Why shouldn't I, Raven?" he replied, pointing the gun towards X's skull mask "He's put us through enough agony before" he switched the safety to Semi-Auto

"Because" said Starfire "It is you who I love!"

At that moment, all the pain inside X's body was replaced by heat, the scorching heat of blind hatred. Even though most bones in his upper body were broken, he rolled sideways, snapping more ribs, making Robin lose his balance and tumble to the cold white floor. With his last ounces of strength, X managed to get on his feet, he reached for his belt's buckle and was about to press it

"Catch'ya later" he said and was about to push it

"Catch you in hell" Whispered Robin. He raised his hand, took aim

And the gun went off

Author's Notes:

Told ya it'll be short, as planned, I wanted to give this last fight scene a chapter of it's own, to add to the drama or…whatever. Anyway, In three days from now, the review chapter will hit your screens. I raked up enough reviews to do what I wanted at the first place, but you know what they say…The more the merrier!

Remember to review

RavenOnline

Peace!


	20. I Hate You

Another review chapter went down the drain. Corrupted file, can you imagine this! I can't even think straight. It's the second time I lose time and effort over a computer error. Thirty pages, mangled, destroyed, obliterated. I'm done trying to publish the damn thing, it took me two months, in which I had seriously hard tests, and I was done with it. But then, computer error, and I suddenly got thirty pages of square thingies! I'm not writing it again, sorry readers, I truly am sorry! I hope you'll be able to forgive me for keeping you waiting, and hope this chapter will be enough to make up for it.

Disclaimer: Own the Teen Titans? Me? You've gotta be kidding

Chapter Nineteen: "I Hate You!"

He was in his room, pacing, step by step by step by step, walking in circles inside the confines of his small workroom, think. Thoughts about what happened an hour ago haunted him, that event, that one millisecond, that one gunshot.

_"Catch'ya later"_ echoed the voice in his head, Red-X's last two words, the words that were his insignia.

_"Catch you in hell"_ he remembered saying before pulling the trigger. That shot was the starting shot of a race; a race of death, a race to save the life of one soul.

He remembered it like it happened just a second ago; the small recoil of the pistol as it went off, the sudden burst of heat as the bullet left its chamber, towards its target. He remembered what happened to X when the bullet penetrated the suit, through his body. The vigilante seemed to freeze in time, as if you took a remote control and hit the 'pause' button. He stood still, the white eye slits wide, both hands covering the right portion of his chest. He stayed motionless for a few moments, but then his body collapsed; like a house of cards, the young man fell to his knees, holding to his chest for dear life, gravity did its work, so did the momentum, he fell face flat, not moving, it wasn't sure that he was even breathing. Robin remembered the voice in his head, the sickening voice of Slade, saying those three hellish words, three words that could bring down walls and destroy cities, and like those cities, so did Robin's mind collapse, crumbled and shattered at the frightening reality he was blasted into; a reality in which he shot a man, for no reason. Yes, those three words, even the thought of them made the Boy Wonder's stomach turn

"_Thank you, Robin_"

He smashed his fist against the wall, it hurt, he raised his masked eyes to stare eye-to-eye with the Red-X skull mask hung over the wall; a dull, expressionless face stared back at him, the two bleached eye slits staring at him, saying nothing

"Say something" he said, hammering his fists beside the white mask, nothing.

"Anything" he pleaded, still no response. He stared at the white slits for a few seconds, and broke down

"I didn't mean to!" he screamed, hoping for the lifeless mask to answer, but all he got was silence, deathly silence.

"I didn't mean to…" he said again, pouting silently. He knew wrong doing for what it was, and that was wrong.

It was already 10 A.M, several hours had past after the faithful shot was fired. Robin decided to leave his room towards the med-lab; he had to see the result of his doing

"_Maybe Raven was able to make him better_" he thought, as he walked down the long corridor, towards the elevator, the medical lab was two floors down. As he went down, he turned around and looked at the mirror; Red-X stared back at him, the Red-X Alpha

"_You're dressed to kill_" echoed a voice in his mind. He panicked and punched the glass mirror, breaking it. Pieces of the glass penetrated the grey glove and into his skin, it hurt

"Guess I have to visit the med lab anyway" he said and got out of the small cube, walking again down the hall, his head down. On his way, he bumped into Beast Boy

"Sorry" he said and looked up towards the shape shifter

"Uh, sure dude, no problem" replied Beast Boy and resumed his walk. Robin looked back, the changeling was walking faster, he was _afraid_ of him, of his friend, of Robin.

_"He's losing blood; get him to the med-lab, PRONTO!" screamed Lisa. Starfire and Cybrog, who were able to free themselves of their X shaped restrains, rushed towards the wounded vigilante, picked him up and ran out of the living room, across the corridor, and into the elevator. Raven, who in the meantime regained her composure, dematerialized into an obsidian raven, moved through the red crisscross that bound her to her place and helped Beast Boy down. Afterwards, they both helped Lisa, with Beast Boy's ferocious Velociraptor claws tearing through the Xenothium material and Raven's powerful telepathic hands, also helping in ripping the red matter off Lisa's body. The female android, along with Beast Boy and Raven, raced down the hall, they didn't even look at him. He was left alone, the gun still in his hand, smoke rising from the barrel. They didn't even look at him_

He quickly shook that memory off him and proceeded down the white hall, as he walked, he kept looking at the red stains on the floor; dried blood, X's blood

Finally reaching the med-lab, he clicked the 'open' button. The slide door opened with a slight sound of air being released, Robin stepped in. Inside was Raven, sitting on a black leather chair, her grayish skin was stained with red marks, she didn't have the time to wash up after taking care of Red-X's condition. Her expression showed she was tired; working who-know-how-many hours over the young thief's dying body. A closer inspection told Robin that Raven was actually napping, or at least trying to. He took another step in and she snapped awake.

"Robin" she said in her monotonous tone "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to see how X is doing" he said. Raven looked at him. Even though he wasn't a telepath, he could tell what she was thinking

"_You came here to finish the job eh?_" he could almost hear those words in his head. Raven's eyes strolled down his body, to his hand

"Your hand doesn't look too good" she told him.

"It's nothing" he bluffed. Actually, it hurt like a needle being pushed down his hand, more than one needle

"Well let me take a look at it" she said and rolled her chair closer to him, skidding along the floor in a rather silent mechanic sound. She took his hand into hers and started pulling the gray glove off. As she did, the glass shards that dug into his flesh were starting to come out, it hurt like hell. His face twitched, but he didn't say anything. After the gray, X branded glove was removed, she handed the Boy Wonder a pair of tweezers

"Pull the rest of the glass out yourself and let me know when you're done. I got more work to do" she said coldly and rolled back to the near operating table, where he was, covered in a white blanket, from under which numerous wires came out, attached to the medical monitors and gadgets alike. His mask was a bit raised, just enough to allow a thick white respiratory tube to his mouth, was Red-X

Raven sat beside him, her head was heavy on her neck, she was about to drop on the floor and sleep until the next world war, or so she felt. She turned her head and looked at the monitors attached to X's body; heart rate, brain activity, breathing. Everything was indicating towards one thing; the vigilante fell into a coma. The rhythmic sound of the monitors was like a lullaby to her. _Beep, beep, beep_ she felt her eyelids heavy, her face sank into a nearby small table, she knew she had to stay awake, but couldn't. Finally; her eyes closed, giving up to her brain's whim. She sunk into the numbness of sleep.

_She got into the white room, Beast Boy following her. She cocked her head sideways, her eyes met with X's body; he was in serious bad shape. She walked closer to him and grabbed the lower part of the skull mask, wanting to lift it. He grabbed her exposed thigh weakly, barely able to use his hand muscles_

_"No…" he whispered "Don't…" he pointed at his belt "Secret button…Behind" she nodded and removed his belt. Above it, just a few inches above his groin, was a small black button, nearly invisible because of the suit's black color. She was about to press it, but remembered something. She turned around to face her fellow titans _

_"Starfire, get out of the room please" she said. Starfire looked insulted_

_"I will not leave" she declared "I wish to stay"  
"I don't have time for this" replied Raven and pressed the button gently. The suit's upper portion fell off like a bad wrapping around a gift. _

_"Gore T.V got nothing on this!" said Beast Boy, he looked greener than usual_

_"I've seen guys that got ran over by Hummvies and looked better than that" joined Lisa_

_"I…I don't…" Starfire grabbed her mouth, turned back and vomited_

_"Cyborg, get her out!" screamed Raven, feeling quite sick herself; the mangled mess of organs in front of her didn't even resemble a human being; Red-X's chest was filled with black and blue bruises, red and black marks on his ribcage showed that he indeed broke his ribs, most, if not all of them. A hole above his right nipple was constantly ejecting blood out in rhythmic bursts and was staining the young man's chest._

_"Get everyone out of here" said Raven commandingly "I need to focus" all the people present left in a straddle, barely dragging themselves out. Raven took another look at X and slapped two white latex gloves on her hands_

_"X, can you hear me?" she asked, not expecting an answer._

_"Yeah…" he replied. His voice was hardly hearable  
"I'm going to start healing you, but I may also need to operate on you. Now, the healing process alone can be painful. Do you want me to give you anesthetics?"  
"No…" he said. Raven nodded and placed her white hands over his chest; her palms started emitting a dark purple light  
_"Raven?" came a voice, she snapped out of her dream

"You fell asleep" said Robin and gestured his hand towards her "Can you patch it up now?" she took a look at the bleeding hand

"You don't need stitches, clean it up, and wrap it in a bandage" she said and got up from her seat, walking towards the exit

"Hey, where are you going?" he asked while looking for the antiseptic

"To my room" she said and turned towards him, staring with sword-like eyes

"Robin" she started "I trust you enough to be left alone with Red-X. Do NOT betray my trust"

"IT WASN'T MT FAULT!" he snapped at her. A vase near X's bed exploded, sending shrapnel and water in all directions

"I'm going to have to ask you to keep your voice down" she said calmly. His eyes narrowed

"I lost control, Raven!" he yelled again

"Your control had nothing to do with what you have done, Robin" she said and left, leaving the young superhero alone, with only the sounds of the medical devices as company.

(S)

The automatic door closed a few seconds after she entered, she was once again surrounded by the comfort of her room

"_Alone at last_" she thought. The past hours were a bit too strenuous for her emotions. She was actually fighting just to keep herself together, and Robin's outburst didn't help her much. Raven scooted along her room, towards the shower. Her blue cloak was flung aimlessly and laded on her purple sheeted bed. As she kept her march towards the desired room, she struggled against her leotard, which insisted on sticking to her tired body.

At long last, the black elastic piece of clothing was also tosses away and the half demon stepped into the white shower room, a flash of black energy and the hot water were turned on.

Raven pressed her hands against the white tiles as her body slowly absorbed the soothing warmth of the water. Each drop of the fluid ran down her body, triggering numerous nerve ending to fire up in a blast of pleasure. She couldn't help the huge smile and low hum that escaped her mouth as millions of little warm fingers ran down her tired body, washing away her pains and aches, along with the dried red blood on her skin, making it all go away.

And then came the knock. Snapping the Goth out of her world of warmth and pleasure back into the world she left, where it was cold, and dark

"Who is it?" she cried "I'm in the shower!"

"It is I, Starfire" came the reply "May I enter your room?"

"I'm taking a shower Star, come back later!" she yelled

"Please, it is most urgent" said the Tamaranian; her voice came from inside Raven's room.

"How did you get in—What's wrong?" Raven stormed out of the bath, wearing only a towel and ready to scream her head off at her friend for bursting into her room, but the moment her eyes saw the look on her companion's eyes, she was startled, it was complete horror

"I…I don't know" said Starfire and grabbed the sides of her bathrobe, the ones used to cover her chest, and removed it. As the robe collapsed, Raven's eyes grew wider and wider

"Did you do this to yourself!" she asked, still in shock

"No!" she protested "I was going to take 'the shower' when I felt pain and as I looked at the mirror…" she grabbed her face, sobbing could be heard. Raven put her hand near the wound; she felt its scorching heat, still being emitted

"It's impossible" she said, shaking her head no. she walked further back and observed the wound on her friend's chest; two long red lines were stretched across it, one from each shoulder, they met between her breasts and kept running each in its own course and ending at the last of her ribs

"What is not, Raven?" she asked while putting her robe back on.

"That burn, there's only one weapon that can leave such a burn that'll have this much heat after that long time" she said.

"What weapon?" asked Starfire and turned towards the mirror in the bathroom, again inspecting the burn, she stumbled back with a scream

It was shaped like an X

"Xenothium" said the half demon

(C)

Lisa, the female android, was climbing the staircase that lead to the roof of the tower. The hatch access opened silently and she stepped into the outside world, trying to erase what she had seen out of her mind. She was bathed in the sun's pleasant heat, the rays bouncing off her metallic armor.

"What are you doing?" cam a voice from behind her, startling her. She turned around and saw Cyborg, trying hopelessly to put a smile on his face, and failing

"Nothing too special, sugar, just… Clearing my head" she answered

"Yeah, last night was pretty messy. Do you feel like having some company?" she smiled and nodded.

"How could he have done that?" asked the android the moment the two sat down "I mean, I know X was a criminal and all, but shooting him?"

"Jealousy makes people do crazy things Cy, it's about time you learned that" replied his friend

"I suppose…" he replied and stopped to think "Do you think he'll make it?"

"Well, I've people in worse conditions make it, and on the other hand, people with lesser injuries just keel over and die"

"Aren't you a ray of sunshine" he said sarcastically

"I gave you the dry facts, nothing more"

"I didn't ask for the dry facts, I asked what you think" Lisa stopped for a second

"X seems like an enduring kinda guy, he'll make it"

"I'm glad to hear it" he said and wrapped his arm around her metallic waist. The two remained there, staring at each other for hours to come.

(S)

A beep sounded across titan's tower, the clock read 1 A.M, its blue numbers glowing inside the darkness of the tower. At the living quarters, only a few of the Titans had fallen asleep; Cyborg and Lisa, who had to undergo the recharging process for their bodies to live on were each in their rooms, Cyborg on his vertical steel table, a large electric cord sticking out of his back and Lisa in hers, lying on her soft bed, two cords, similar to the one in Cyborg's back were connected to her chest armor, feeding her power cells with precious energy.

Robin, who sat beside X all day long was in his room at the present time, again pacing aimlessly with the Red-X mask staring at him from its position on the wall.

Raven, who was assigned to watch over Red-X for the duration of the night was at the med-lab and was checking the numerous charts and graphs displayed on her computer screen. On the other side of the room, was Beast Boy, who, although being ordered to go and sleep, insisted on keeping Raving company. The Goth was more than happy to have him next to her, but was forced to constantly remind him she was busy as he was trying to amuse her with his tricks and animal morphing. He morphed into a cat and leaped from behind her, landing on the brown desk. She giggled; it was funny seeing him go through all that trouble to amuse her

"Down" she told him commandingly. A little grin spread across the little kitten's face as it rolled of the table, and into her lap.

"You better go to sleep, I still have a lot of work to do" she told him. The feline nodded and yawned, resting its big head on Raven's thigh, and falling asleep. She looked at the tiny creature with affection, but then looked back at the screen. She had to find out how Starfire got hit from such a weapon when the only one using it is in a coma.

"It's just isn't possible" she hummed to herself. She spent the last two hours fast forwarding the video tapes from the med lab. X didn't even move an inch.

"seventeen twelve, seventeen thirty three, seventeen forty five, eightee- Wait, stop, rewind!" she saw something, it wasn't clear, like a blur. It didn't even last a second. The tape returned itself to the second where she saw the blur. There it was; above X's body; a black-grey blur.

"Zoom on top left corner; enhance resolution, playback in slow motion" she said. The voice activated computer complied.

"What the- " she let out, unable to believe her own eyes.

"Beast Boy, wake up!" she screamed, nodding the kitten on its head. The creature woke up and yawned

"We have to get to Starfire, now!" she took him by the neck and bolted out of the room, towards the elevator.

(T)

She snapped awake, unaware of the reason. Her tired eyes scanned her room, nothing out of the ordinary, she tasted her mouth, it felt dry.

Starfire rolled off her bed and made her way lazily across her room, towards the grey steel door. With a press of a button, the door slid open. Starfire forced her tired legs into motion and dragged herself out of the room.

As she made her way towards the kitchen, she heard a voice in the distance, behind her; a footstep. Quickly turning around, she saw a blink of her mysterious footstep maker; a black heel of a combat boot, vanishing behind the corner and followed by a trace of a black cape, long and tattered, Red-X's cape.

"Wait! Please stop!" she cried and began running towards the same corner. Surprisingly, it took her quite a while to get past it, maybe it was her tired body, or maybe the corridor was a lot longer than she remembered. Nonetheless, she made the turn and looked into the darkness of the corridor, she saw something, it was him.

X was kneeling, one knee on the ground, the other not too far from it, his long cape was covering his back, resting on his shoulders and folded against the floor, his head was down, as if he was looking at the ground for some reason and his hands were crisscrossed in front of his head. Carefully, she took a few steps towards him, he did not seem to notice her as he kept his head down, seemingly lost in thoughts

"Red-X? Is that you?" she asked while walking closer to him. He raised his head towards her, the two white eyes in his mask started narrowing down, slowly, becoming two sharp bleached tears in the skull mask

"_You_" he said. His voice didn't sound as usual, it was darker, frightening, it scared Starfire, forcing her to stop. He threw his arms back, still kneeling, revealing the two X saw blades

"_I hate you!_" he cried and lounged at her. Her instincts kicked in, she raised both her hands forward to protect her, it didn't help, X's form went right through her hands, through her, and vanished. She collapsed to her knees, each palm grabbing the opposite arm and her mouth, releasing a horrible howl of pain.

It didn't take long for Raven and Beast Boy to reach her, after seeing that she wasn't in her room, they rushed to where the scream came from and found her, lying on the ground, holding to her arms, sobbing.

"Star! Are you okay?" exclaimed the changeling, he rushed beside her, she did not answer, just kept sobbing. Raven joined him, kneeling beside her

"It was X, wasn't it?" she asked. Starfire did not answer, just nodded

"But I thought…X is in a coma, isn't he?" asked the green shape shifter. Raven nodded

"It's complicated" she said

"Starfire! What happened to her?" came a voice from behind them. Raven turned around, it was Robin

"She was attacked" said the half-demon "By Red-X"

"But I thought Red-X is-" he was cut off by Beast Boy

"It's complicated" he let out. Robin's expression darkened

"So what do we need to do?" he asked

"Wake Cyborg and Lisa, tell them to take X from the med lab and into the safety room" she commanded. Robin nodded and dashed off

"Beast Boy, go into Star's room, get some clothes for her, she'll be sleeping in my room"

"No problem" he replied, also dashing after Robin

"Come on, Star" Raven tried to make her get up, with no success.

"Give me your hand, please" she asked again, Starfire looked at her

"It burns" she said, she sounded like a terrified little girl, it scared Raven. She could say a lot of things about Starfire, but she wasn't weak

"Don't worry" she tried "Just, give me your hand, please. The Tamaranian sniffled, and in what seemed to be a great effort, took her right palm off her left arm, and placed in Raven's hands. Raven looked at the wound, it was another burn, just like the one she showed her before. It was branded on her arm, just a little below the shoulder.

Another red X

Author's note

I found out something that's very troubling to me. My chapters take great influence from the type of music I hear; Heavy Metal- action, love songs- great fluff scenes. Thing is, I just got my hands on a disc-load of Death Metal, so it inspired a horror chapter. Can you people please recommend me of some love songs so I'll be able to write some decent fluff-ness? Thanks!

Peace!


	21. Captured

Three hundred reviews baby! Dear lord, this was a helluvalot more than I expected. Thanks for all the love song suggestions people, they'll be put to good use, promise!

Anyway, as promised, the fluff started making the comeback last chapter. It's just getting better and better. With some unexpected turns!

Disclaimer: If I owned the Teen Titans, I wouldn't be writing this, I'd have people writing this for me

Chapter Twenty: Communication/Capture

Dawn. The sun was lazily rising from the east, the glowing red ball of light sending beautiful strings of bright orange light across the darkened skies, giving them a cyanic touch. Titans Tower's living quarters, usually filled with the sunshine that is emitted from Starfire's open door, were as dark as the inside of a coffin. No light, no smell, just the sound of paces down the long hallway as Red-X's ethereal form walked down it. He went past the rooms; Lisa, Cyborg, Beast Boy, Robin, Starfire, Raven. As he walked, his cape remained still, not affected by the air bumping against it.

He walked, determined, until he reached the last room on the hallway; it didn't look like the entrance to a room, more like a bunker's; dual layered titanium doors, marked with a red and yellow stripe and a "Do not Enter" black sign.

"The safe room" he said to himself, and walked right through the grey titanium door, passing through them as if they did not exist, or was it he who didn't exist?

His eyes fixed on the body in front of him, attached to medical equipment, lying still, was Red-X

"I've looked better" he said and took a few steps back, maybe to admire the motionless figure ahead, ran, and leaped into the air, aiming for the body. It was like hitting concrete as he was knocked back into the ground

"You are NOT doing this to me" he hissed and tried again, with similar results. Cursing, he got up and punched the body, his arm bounced back at him

"Come on Vince, let me IN!" he raged and punched the body again, his arms bounced

"I made you!" screamed the specter and slammed his hands against the body "You can't do this to me!" the body did not respond

"You're nothing without me, Vince, and you know it!" he raged "I was with you from the moment he killed your brother, I took care of you, I helped you survive down in the sewers!"

"You know you won't make it without me" he hissed "You have the suit, but you're not Red-X. I am" and with that, he charged again, leaped, and bounced off to knock his head over one of the enchanted walls of the room, releasing a distorted howl of anger and frustration

"I. Want. In!"

(S)

Blurred vision. Blinking slowly, eyes adjusting themselves to the light, or lack of it. Messages from all over the body's nerve ending reaching the brain; Cold. The two emerald orbs finally fully opened, scanning the room.

"_This is not my room_" came the thought. Starfire looked down on herself, she knew where she was; the purple velvet sheets, the dark atmosphere, the bookshelves. She was inside Raven's room, lying above the purple covers of her bed.

"_Why am I here?_" she asked herself "_And where is Raven?_" she heard breathing, someone was sleeping inside the room. As she rolled to her right, she felt immense pain when her arm touched the surface of the bed. She looked at the X shaped scar, it all came back to her.

Looking down the side of her bed, she saw Raven; she was lying on the floor, sleeping sound, using her cloak as a blanket and her folded up hood as a pillow, the half demon did not seem to be aware of her friend's wakening.

Rolling off the large bed, she tiptoed towards the door, until Raven's voice came, as far as she was considered, the half-demon's voice could've been a gunshot, she would've reacted the same way, jumping into the air, squealing in panic

"Where do you think you're going?" Raven asked. Starfire turned around and mumbled something in Tamaranian

"I did not mean to-"

"Wake me?" Raven seemed amused "Do you really think I was asleep?" she threw her cloak down the laundry chute located next to her bathroom and picked a new one from her closet

"How're your arms?" she asked. Starfire sighed

"The pain is not what hurts me" she said and lowered her head "He said he hates me"

"Telling people you love someone else right in their face does that" said Raven and raised an eyebrow

"Why do you even care?" she asked, trying to attack from a different angle "I thought you love Robin"

"I do" she replied "But, when I was…" she looked as if a wave of guilt was about to break out of her

"When you were, what?" shot Raven

"When I was at the Red-X's apartment…We…" she bit her lip. Raven's eyes were as wide as satellite dishes

"You didn't" she said. Hoping to hear the right answer

"I'm afraid I have" she said at last "Me and the Red-X have…'got it on' as you say" the Goth looked like she was about to pass out

"Star, it's all coming together" she said at last "The attitude, hurting you, being out of character. It all makes sense"

"What does?" Starfire was baffled, but she started feeling cold fingers trace along her back the moment Raven started talking

"Robin, he said that when he turned to Red-X, he wasn't himself anymore, that he was something else, a ruthless thief. I think that once you put on the suit, your conscience splits in two; one is the person that's under the suit, and the other is Red-X himself, the ruthless thief. Starfire, the man inside that suit loved you, and you broke his heart in the most painful way possible; he was fighting for you, and you let him down. I think the gunshot allowed someone, or something out of there, something evil" she closed her eyes and breathed

"We're not fighting the person anymore; we're fighting Red-X" she said. Starfire could do nothing but to gasp, Raven's announcement hit her like a brick in the face. She remembered her thoughts before setting outside the tower, towards the amusement park, to meet X. It all came back to her

"No one was supposed to get hurt" she uttered, tears were welling in her eyes "I just wanted to make Robin see-"

"That you come before work" Raven cut her off. The young princess nodded

"And now…"

"And now we better stop him before he does anything we'll all regret" shot Raven and started sorting under her bed, reaching down and pulling out four small crystals, she left her room

"Where're you going, Raven?" asked a still confused Starfire. Raven looked back at her and grinned

"I'm gonna catch a ghost"

(S)

By the time Raven had set up in the living room, Starfire had gone to wake the girls' fellow titans. It didn't take too long before the remaining four members reached the large room, fully suited and ready for combat

"You want us to _WHAT_?" Robin raised an eyebrow, Cyborg, Beast Boy and Lisa joined him

"To watch over my body while I contact X" she replied and handed Robin the four purple crystals she pulled earlier.

"They're called Soul Trappers" she told him "I want you to follow my astral figure and in case things get too hot-"

"What do you mean 'too hot'?" interjected Beast Boy, Raven sighed

"If X will try to kill me, I need you to set the crystals around him, it'll create a spiritual barrier that'll keep him locked up in there"

"Dude, Raven, no way!" the changeling threw his arms sideways, showing complete disagreement with the plan "We've seen what X can do, he'll chop you to tiny pieces and-"

"And I'm the only one who's capable of entering the spirit world" with that statement, Beast Boy hushed

"Still, it sounds a bit risky" shot Robin. The Goth gave him a glare

"Trust me, I know what I'm doing, unlike _other _people" Starfire nearly cried after Raven's remark.

Cross legged, Raven began to levitate slowly, rising inch after inch above the cold floor. Her cloak was the only thing related to her that was touching the ground. She opened a careful eye

"Are you all Ready?" she asked. Robin and Beast Boy nodded in unison. Cyborg and Lisa exchanged confused glances

"Then on we go" she said and readied herself, holding her arms out into the void

"Azerath, Metrion, Zinthosssssssss" she chanted, prolonging the last word of her well known chant. It took immediate affect as her eyes exploded with white energy. An obsidian form of herself stepped out of her still levitating body and began marching down the hallway. Robin shook off the restraints of shock that kept him motionless and walked after her, Beast Boy wasn't too far behind

"Red? Red, show yourself!" she messaged telepathically as she walked down the long corridor, no response. She looked back and saw Robin, closely followed by Beast Boy. Her heart flinched when she was blasted by Beast Boy's emotions; in her current form, she could see the emotions as an aura surrounding the person. Beast Boy was surrounded by a dark blood red neon light, fear, but yet, he kept following her

"_He's so scared that even a pad on the shoulder would make him wet himself, but he's still following me. He really does care-_"a flash of strong emotion went through her head, it hurt, seriously hurt. Raven closed her eyes and started pacing forward, towards the same corner her friend took last night.

"Who's there?" barked a distorted voice from around the corner. Raven hurried her steps, Robin and Beast Boy followed

"It's me" she said as she came round the corner. X was sitting in front of the safe room, sitting cross legged. He raised his glaring eyes to meet with hers

"Crow, what're you doing here?" he shot. Raven narrowed her eyes

"It's Raven" she growled

"Whatever. What do you want?" he got up from the floor and began walking towards her. Robin's and Beast Boy's grip over the crystals tightened

"I want you to stop hurting my friend" she hissed. He chuckled

"You don't get something here" his tone dropped dangerously, Raven took a few steps back, she started to get scared

"She hurt me, she broke my heart. I'm just repaying a favor"

"_Beast Boy, Robin, get ready_" she said mentally. Behind the corner, the two readied themselves to pounce at the ghost

"I can't let you do that X, you know that" she said. He seemed amused

"And who's gonna stop me? You? I can see you're scared Raven"

"Maybe I'm scared, but that won't stop me from fighting" she hissed, her hands glowing black

"We'll just see about that" he lounged at her, but halfway in the air, something happened, his body exploded into a red wave that came right at her. She was caught off guard and was able to let out a loud mental shriek before the red water engulfed her

"Beast Boy, NOW!" commanded Robin. He and the changeling shot from around the corner and threw the crystals around the crimson explosion. A web of violet light spread into a cubical shape that shot the obsidian girl outside, encasing the red water that quickly returned to Red-X's form, the water painting themselves black once again and resuming their former human shape

"What is this?" he cried and banged his fists against the purple barrier. Robin approached him, carefully closing the distance between them

"I'm sorry X" he said "Sorry about this…This… I don't know" he sighed and threw his arms forward, submissively. The ghost shot him a glare

"I'm not holding you blame for anything, kid. You were just a tool, like me" Robin's eyes opened suddenly

"What do you mean?" he asked. X grinned, a mean spark lit up in his dead eyes

"She used me to get to you, and once she was through with me, she used you to get me out of the way" Robin's face turned red from rage

"Your logic is as distorted as your voice, X. I shot you because of the reagent! Slade talked to me, inside my mind-"

"How do you know she didn't give the reagent in the first place?" said the thief slyly. Robin's eyes narrowed

"Because she wouldn't!" he screamed, his pulse was going crazy "I know her! She wouldn't do that-"

"You know yourself pretty good too, doncha?" he asked and began strolling around the small cubical

"What's your point?" Robin snapped

"Simple. You hold life as a supreme value; you wouldn't take one's life because of an instinct, would you?"

"Don't answer him!" they heard a cry. Raven came from around the corner; she was holding her chest and coughing up some red liquid. Beast Boy rushed at her and held her in his arms

"Are you okay?" he asked. She nodded in response and leveled her eyes with X's

"I know what you want" she told him. He poised himself in a battle stance

"Good, so you know nothing won't stop me from-" he was cut off

"You want to go back, don't you?" she asked. His eyes went huge

"You have a way of bringing me back?" he asked.

"Yes" she lied. X stepped back in his prison

"Well, what are you waiting for? Send me back!" her composure was collapsing, but she didn't let it show

"It'll take time" she shifted uncomfortably "I need to find a certain book; I don't know if I even have it" she heard steps behind her. Starfire came from around the corner; Cyborg and Lisa were holding her back, trying to prevent her from getting there

"Is it over? Was he captured?" she asked, there was a tone of worry in her voice. Beast Boy and Robin moved to opposite sides, allowing the young Tamaranian's eyes to rest on the captured ghost. The moment she did so, X looked at her; she felt his glare like knives in her face

"Get over here!" he said and lounged at her, both his hands held out, to strangle her. As he hit the violet prison, the purple wall stretched, like some form of rubber, still encasing X's reached out hands

And then it burst

The two grey gloves wrapped themselves around Starfire's neck, fingers squeezing, trying to suck the life out of her. But then, something remarkably dreadful happened; X's hands caught fire, purple fire. He screamed in pain, trying to hold on the young girl's neck, but was forced to let go, retracting his hands, the gum-like structure of the prison kicked in, sending X back to the opposite wall. He landed crouched and looked at his hands. Two sets of grey, singed bones welcomed him, but sonly after, flesh and muscle were beginning to build up. He rose up, looking at the Titans which were looking at him with wide eyes; mouths wide open, even Raven seemed shocked.

"You'll lower you guard some day, and then I'll strike, even if it takes me years, I'll get you. You WILL suffer the same pain as I did" he said, it sounded like he was talking through burning amber.

Raven, as predicted, was the first to go back to herself. She stood next to the prison, encased both her and the prison with black energy, and vanished. The remaining Titans scattered, leaving Starfire and Robin to look at each other awkwardly.

Suddenly, the Boy Wonder approached her, and took her in his arms, as her head rested on his shoulder, she wept

"It was not supposed to be like that" she said and wept on "He was not supposed to be hurt!"

"Then what was supposed to happen, Star?" he asked. His eyes softened. She looked at him

"Do you love me?" she asked. His cheeks went red; he swallowed hard, but then closed his eyes and opened them again, looking directly into hers

"More than life itself" he replied.

"Then please, I beg not to ask this question" he didn't know what to do. On one hand, his mind told him to keep pressing her, maybe it was important, maybe he could get hurt, but on the other hand, his heart told him to let her be. And as he stood there, the girl of his dreams in his arms, torn between following his mind and heart, he closed his mouth shut, did the same with his eyes, and allowed himself to drown in her long, red hair.

(S) –WARNING! Really stupid and ridicules plot twist ahead! Proceed with extreme caution!

"Make yourself comfortable, X" said Raven and proceeded to raking more objects from beneath her bed. X just stood in his amethyst prison, watching her

"What're you doing down there?" he asked. She didn't reply, but instead, turned to face her dressing closet. She took some white powder from a sack she pulled and drew a white line in front of the closet

"You thought you were the only ghost in this tower, didn't you?" she asked him. He looked at her with one eyebrow raised, and nodded

"Well, think again" she hummed. "There is another one, and I do hope she'll be able to turn you around"

"What do you mean?" he snapped. She faced him

"I checked my books. There is a reason why you can't get back in. You're too…Black" He raised an eyebrow

"What do you mean 'black'?" he asked "I got a feeling it has nothing to do with skin color

"You know that all magical powers are a balance, right? Good and bad, black and white. You did something that made you too evil for your body to take you back, you somehow need to go back to what you once were"

"And I suppose you know how?" he asked

"No, but there's someone here who does" the reply made his eye go wide. She faced the closet and reached forward. The white power glowed in dark purple, emitting sparks, and then it exploded in grey smoke, engulfing the entire room.

Raven look at the closet door with anticipation. Her expectations were fulfilled as a black transparent glove reached from inside and slowly started opening the door. A lock of blonde hair peeked from inside, followed by some tanned skin, a big blue eye, a small nose, another eye and a mouth. Her body was petite, and wrapped in a battle suit like such X had never seen, it was torn on several places, but her could still spot the trademarked S in the middle of her breast plate. Raven crossed her arms on her chest and smiled a little

"Hello, Terra"

Author's Notes!

Another chapter done! I got to tell you people, I'm actually thinking this thing is gonna stretch out further than I expected. Maybe it WILL last forever, I hope so!

Remember to review

Bye!


	22. Back in Our Lives

First off, I wish to thank blufirestar for clearing up the whole vigilante thing for me, muchas gracias!

Second off, there will be no, I say, NO Terra bashing in this story! Ya want to see this girl getting bashed? Turn your attention to the proper C2 community

I guess by now, you've been able to realize the plot line after Terra's joining. Well, I'll try to make it as unpredictable as possible, so you won't get bored. On with the show!

Chapter Twenty-One: Back in Our Lives

"_Cold_"

"_Grey_"

"_Hard_"

"_Stainless_"

"_For Pete's sake!_" Beast Boy's mind screamed. He has been looking at Raven's closed door for the past hour and a half, hoping it would somehow open and the girl of his dreams would come out. He wanted to see her; after all, he did love her. The changeling walked a semicircle around the door, turned around, as if walking towards the other direction, and snapped his eyes back in a lightning fast motion. Sighing, he brought his fist within knocking range of the door, but withdrew and walked away. He knew what she was doing was important, what was she doing? He didn't have a clue; only that it's very important and that she should be left alone while doing this. After all, that's what she told him when he knocked

"_You can't come in, I'm busy_" her words rang in his mind, just like she used to. He punched the wall, it hurt, but he didn't care. He kept his march down the hall, and reached the living room, where he found Lisa, sitting with Cyborg beside her. The two androids were hugging each other, not willing to interrupt them, he turned around and back to the hall.

He had to do something.

"_GameStation? Nah. Sleeping? Did that. What's left to do?_" he ran a process of elimination, wiping out his options one by one. As the last option was crossed out, he looked at his surroundings, as it were; he reached the roof in his little unnoticed trip. He took a deep breath of the sea air, allowing the aroma to enter his system; it had a cleansing affect, taking all of his worries away. He sat down on the ledge and gazed at the open sea

"_For the same reason Robin keeps fighting Slade in the simulator and Starfire always checks with the Centauri prison wardens about Blackfire; we're afraid that they'll come back_" He remembered their conversation. They were sitting at same place as he was, also staring into the wide open sea. He missed her

He missed Raven

"I wonder if she's done" he said to no one. The sky replied with its all knowing silence

"Yeah, I bet she is, besides, she won't mind if I-"

"Hey" came a voice from behind him; he jumped in panic and fell off the ledge, only to come back up in the shape of a green hawk

"Don't you ever-" he started once resuming his human form, but stopped as soon as his eyes rested on the one who startled him

Raven

"I just…thought you could use a little company" she said. Her hood was down, so Beast Boy was able to spot two red stains below her eyes; she was blushing

"Well, yeah, I… Sure!" he smirked, revealing the trademarked fang. Raven smiled and sat next to him

"You came up here to think, right?" she asked him and lied down on the concrete roof

"You might say that, yeah" he replied and did the same as she did, continuing his sentence

"I thought you were busy in your room" she gave him an odd look

"Well, I am, but I had to take a break. Red-X is a tough nut to crack" he grinned and ran his finger across her cheek

"Maybe you should work some of your Raven Mojo on him. That always does me in" she giggled

"I can't" she started "He has do to that on his own" Beast Boy sat up

"Then maybe we should check on him, to see how he's doing" at those words, Raven shot up and brought the changeling back down with her two soothing hands

"I…I don't think we should do that" she stammered "_He can't go in there!_" her mind screamed "I mean, things are pretty violent down there, that's why I came up here" Beast Boy looked at her, right into her eyes, she could swear he was reading her mind. Her palms were sweating, heart rate going up; she didn't want him to know she was hiding something from him. And then he shrugged

"Okay" he said, smirking

(S!)

"Let's start by the basics" said the blonde girl and stepped towards a dead tree "This is a neutral ground, not affected by neither good nor evil-"

"Yeah, looks like a nuke came down and killed everyone, charming" the thief interrupted and chuckled

"Do you mind?" she snapped, took a breath and started over "Anyway, it's excellent for your training-"

"Whoa, hold it, Blondie Mc'Bleach, I don't need training, I'm already the best there is" he interrupted again, crossing his arms on his chest, grinning under his mask. Terra sighed and looked at her surroundings. It looked similar to Nevermore; the forbidden land inside Raven's mind; the surface was composed of flying boulders, big enough for two, maybe three persons and occasional stony paths that flew by, surrounding them was darkness, utter darkness, with two red circles lighting up the skies and some dead trees shaped in frightening ways

"And that's your first mistake" she told him. He raised an eyebrow

"Thinking you're invincible made you the way you are, evil. You have to realize you're not the best there is" He leaned towards her

"But I am" he replied, grinning. Her eyes narrowed, she held a finger in front of his skull shaped face

"No, you're not" she shot back. He leaned closer to her face

"Yes, I am"

"No, you're not"

"Yes, I am" She leaned back, causing him to lose balance and almost fall on his face, a victorious grin on her face

"Prove it" she said. An eye slit grew wide

"What?" he looked at her with disbelief

"Well come on, Red-X" she threw her arms aside and clutched two fists "Attack me!". His eye slits narrowed

"You asked for it" he hissed and lounged forward, using the opening in her defenses, he buried a right fist into her gut; the seemingly tough looking armor covering her midsection apparently didn't do it's work as she let out a sudden gasp for air and tried to clam herself shut, bringing her head and knees together, her hands closing from the sides to defend her exposed body

And then the second fist came; the gloved hand crashed against Terra's fine jaw line, sending her flying in a back flip, which she ended by lying on the ground, hands used to cover her waist

"Are we done here, Miss Spears?" asked the thief and crossed his arms on his chest. Terra forced out a chuckle

"Actually, we're just getting started, _rookie_" she said and grinned, her palms glowed in a fade touch of yellow, something that should have alerted X, but it didn't.

A circle of rock, on which the criminal was standing, suddenly blasted itself upwards with no sound but that of rocks crumbling. X looked up to see another floating rock, heading towards him, he jumped off the turbo elevator, which crashed a second later into the second rock, only to see a spike of land, aiming to skewer him like a cocktail winner. Quick thinking took place, he reached down for his belt and tapped the buckle, vanishing into the signature black shimmer and allowing the rock spike to keep on its course without any interference

As he phased back into the material world behind the girl, his right backhand cross blade was already drawn and he drove it towards her neck, he was going for a kill. A slab of rock that rocketed out of the ground blocked his attack, jabbing the blade deep into the stone, he pulled back and was assisted by Terra's roundhouse kick to his stomach, the plated silver boots hammered into his stomach, releasing the blade and sending the masked teen to the ground

He looked up just in time to see another rock spike diving towards him from the blackened sky, nailing his cape right between his spread legs. Looking ahead, he saw the girl running towards him and leaping into the air, diving at him legs forward

"That's my move!" he exclaimed and again phased into a black shimmer.

Terra landed a few inched ahead of the rock spike, one leg tossed sideways, the other in a strange kneeling position, looking forward, she saw a black shimmer; X was phasing in, and as he did, he welcomed her with a hail of X shaped shuriken

"_So obvious_" she thought and raised another rock slab, absorbing all the projectiles. If she could only see his eye slits narrowing, she would have known she played right into his hands

The two handfuls of explosives went off, lighting up the black void with yellow and orange, breaking the large rock on which the two were standing to bits and pieces. As Terra summoned a snake of stone to break her fall, she saw the thief landing couched on another floating rock and unleashing yet another handful of explosives towards her stone serpent, seconds before the explosion, she could only think about one thing

"_He planned this all along_"

The impact had her stunned, but not too stunned to still fight back; when she touched down on her own floating boulder, she raised a glowing open palm into the air and closed it shut, causing pillars of rock to emerge around X, securing and trapping his hands, legs and neck before he could even respond. The blonde earth shaker got on her feet, dusted her battle armor and shook some small pebbles from her long hair. She cleared the distance between herself and the trapped ghost by walking on steps of rock that emerged from the rock she was standing on and the one X was at.

"You just couldn't win this" she said and traced her gloved finger on the edge of his mask. X said nothing, just narrowed his eyes

"Don't feel so bad about it, though" she said in a low voice, teasing him "I'm more veteran than you as a spirit, and it granted me a lot of time to improve control over my powers" her finger now traced a line down his neck and the middle of his chest

"You really didn't stand a chance since the first moment" she kept teasing, moving her finger on his stomach muscles, going lower and lower

"_Jackpot_" in a lightning fast motion, X threw his pelvis backwards, then forward, causing it to rise a bit, just enough for Terra's outstretched finger to touch the belt's buckle

_Zzzring_

Terra was stunned to find her restrains holding nothing, but the real shock came when the feeling of X's forearm being wrapped around her neck, and his leg, sweeping both of hers from the ground. He tossed her backwards, sending her flying high.

As she landed, the stunned Terra glared at the bandit with glowing yellow eyes, the earth under his feet literally exploded, sending him crashing to the rocks below, Terra jumped off the edge and awaited him to come into her visual range, so she could launch another attack.

_Ting! _

Terra looked down to see the red object jabbed right in the middle of her breast plate, she heard a low hum that grew louder and louder. She was blasted by the Xenothium weapon's energy discharge, sending a shocking electric current through her body, and fell down to the ground, fists clutched, teeth ground.

"I'm asking again, are we done here?" X hovered in front of her, looking down on the battered girl at his feet. Terra's response was a feral growl, the earth exploded, sending X doubling back. As he steadied himself, he looked ahead at Terra, and was mortified; streams of magma were bursting out of the void, heading towards the girl, engulfing her, encasing her, morphing her.

"_HOLY –_" he dodged a stream of hot molten lava, ducking down below it, a second one came, he had to jump, but decided to roll sideways, poising himself in front of the girl, he attached his palm to the ground and unleashed a violent Xenothium stream that tore an X shaped gash into the rock, sending the creature formally known as Terra, falling down the void. As he walked up to see her, he noticed the grey rock gaining a yellowish color, and getting warmer.

He jumped off the rock just before another stream of molten earth pierced through it, reaching the lowest, biggest rock in the black void. Once landing, he readied a set of explosive shuriken and hurled them towards the fiery monster, but the X projectiles didn't even hit her, the heat surrounding her body caused them to explode. X not took a good hard look at the girl; she resembled a cat now, made out of flames, standing on two legs and having quite an attractive figure, if X dared thinking that.

"Don't you see? I outmatch you!" roared Terra. X grinned maniacally under his mask and reached for his belt, undid it and threw it towards the girl

"Yeah, you're right, you're _much_ better than I am" he said, trying his best to look sad. It seemed like Terra fell for it, as she picked the belt up and held it in her arms

"See? Doesn't that feel much better?" she retorted. X's eyes narrowed

"No, but this will" he shot at her. It was then when Terra's human ears heard the slight beeping sound, she lowered her eyes and looked at the belt, the X shaped buckle was blinking red

"_The power core_" she thought

And was engulfed in a huge red explosion of energy.

(S)

"We're on route to Crystal Beach, Robin. You should have the tower pretty much all to yourselves" Cyborg's voice came through the communicator. Robin smiled a bit

"And…you can make up for some lost time with Starfire, you know what I mean, explain to her that you're not psycho anymore" Lisa's voice joined

"Thanks guys" he replied and broke contact. Looking round the living room, he did feel lonely, in an unnoticed way, even though he always insisted that he does his best work alone, he needed his friends, and now, no one was around.

He strolled around the living room and looked from behind the slashed couch at the empty hole that used to house the big screen T.V; a living memory of that faithful battle. After a few moments of silence, he decided he just couldn't take it anymore and headed towards his room, where he spotted Starfire, looking into his room

"Uh, Star? What're you doing?" he said and hurried towards her.

As he came closer, he could see what she was staring at; placed on the wall in front of her, the Red-X mask

"It puzzles me" she said, throwing a meaningless sentence into the air "How can a simple mask cause so much pain and sorrow"

"Don't worry Starfire, X is in good hands, he's healing" he tried to calm her, but by the look in her eyes, he didn't do much of a good job

"It was still my wrong doing who lead us to this situation. If only I had given it more thought, I wouldn't have used the red-X as..." she lowered her head

"As a what, Star?" Robin asked, placing his hand on her shoulder. He eyes clamped shut with tears

"As a mean…to get your attention" she said and choked on her tears. His masked eyes widened

"So, you were dating him to make me jealous?" He was breaking inside, emotions were exploding inside him, colliding, crashing. Without words, she nodded

"Yes" she said and again choked on tears. Robin's lip began to quiver, he couldn't control it

"Starfire…" he sounded more sad than shocked "If you wanted to tell me something, you could've just said it. I knew I was being a jerk, but… but I thought you knew I was doing it for you, for us; I wanted to capture Slade"

"I understand" she replied, weakly "Slade plays a key roll in your life, Robin, even though you hate admitting it, Slade is your 'drive', he is the actual reason for your life"

"It's not true!" he screamed, it scared her. He saw it in her eyes, it was the same look she gave him back then, when Slade pulled his 'last trick'; the chemical reagent.

"It's not true, Starfire, you are" he said through quivering lips. A little smile spread on her lips, she loved hearing him talk like that

"If so, I ask you for one thing" he raised a curious look at her

"What?"

"That you forgive me and the red-X" he tried his best to smile, seems as though she bought it

"I will, as long as you convince X to forgive me" Robin said. Starfire broke their contact, placing him in front of her, holding both his hands in her own

"We are, okay then, yes?" the Boy Wonder couldn't help but chuckle

"Yeah, hopefully everything will be back to normal as soon as possible" he added

(S)

"Dude, come ON!" Beast Boy exclaimed. It was late night; he and Cyborg were creeping across the hall, with the changeling in the lead.

"B, are you sure that's such a good idea? I mean, you remember what happened last time we-"

"Yeah, I do" Beast Boy cut him off "But we'll be more careful this time" a few more paces, and they reached their destination; the grey stainless steel door engraved with five black letters

RAVEN

"Now, are you sure she's not in?" Cyborg asked carefully, he wasn't too confident in his friend's 'bullet proof plan'

"Yeah, I'm sure!" Beast Boy replied, sounding offended "Lisa took Star and Raven out to town and Robin's down at the machine shop, working on his new- Hey, wait a minute!" he smacked his forehead

"You got all those techno gizmos thing-a-whachits, can't you just scan the room for life forms or something, like Predator?" (A/N: I don't own The Predator) Cyborg felt pretty awkward, not remembering his own technology. He gazed into the room; his electronic eye turned blinding blue for a second. Beast Boy was right, infra red scan detected no life forms what so ever, though a slight anomaly was picked up in the eastern side of the room. Cyborg neglected it, a glitch in the system, happens once in a while, just need to recalibrate the system.

"Coast's clear" he said. In response, the green boy turned into a small fly, slipped beneath the door, and opened it from the inside

"Okay dude, spread and search, and remember, don't touch the magic mirror like last time" said the changeling

"It was you who touched it last time, man!" Cyborg retorted, furious

"Is it really the time to point fingers?" Beast Boy replied innocently "We got a mission to do" he then proceeded into digging into Raven's drawers, sending items flying in all directions.

After twenty minutes of search, Beast Boy threw his hands into the air

"I give up!" he yelled "If Raven's trying to hide something from me, she's doing a really good job! We didn't find squat!"

"That's not completely true, man" Cyborg said "When I scanned the room; I found something, I think it's just an anomaly, but if you want, I can run a full spectrum scan and-"

"Yeah, do it! I gotta find what she's hiding!" Beast Boy jumped up and down like a little boy, about to get his candy. Cyborg's eye again turned blue, this time for a more prolonged time. In the meantime, Beast Boy was putting all the thrown clothing items back in place

"Ok, I got the data, let's vector off" said the android and left the room. Beast Boy left a few seconds after him, closing the door.

Minutes later, in Cyborg's room, the two were staring at the computer screen, which displayed the data Cyborg has uploaded to it

"There…see?" Cyborg said and pointed at a rectangle shaped object containing a red blur "Whatever it is, it's inside Raven's closet" he said

"Well why couldn't we see it? We looked there, I even did it twice!" Beast Boy exclaimed. In response, Cyborg took a long breath

"That's a spectrum image, that blur you see there means that whatever's there, it appears in the Sub-violet zone of the spectrum (A/N: This is NOT real, I don't know squat about the light spectrum), it's between the lowest ones there are" he sounded surprised, Beast Boy nodded, pretending to understand

"Can't you clear it up a bit?" he asked. Cyborg nodded and the picture was painted in deep purple. After a few minutes of watching, Beast Boy jumped

"It's a chick sitting!" he exclaimed. The android gave him an odd look

"You're seein' things, dawg" he told him. Beast Boy shook his head violently

"No, dude, seriously, look; here are the legs, that's the body, and here's the head" he said and pointed at the relevant parts of the image

"Can't you, like, magnify it or something?" he said. Cyborg grinned

"Well, I did get my hands on a bootleg copy of an image enhancing program I've been dying to try" he typed for a few seconds and the screen turned black

-Scanning Picture-

-Resizing desired sector-

-Enhancing resolution-

-Please Wait…-

As the enhanced image was revealed, the boys' jaws dropped. Cyborg turned pale, and Beast Boy was colored like a washed out green rag

"What in the world…" Cyborg half mouthed, half said

"Terra" Beast Boy said, and fainted

Author notes!

Woohoo! Good to have this finished. Again, thanks to all my loyal reviewers and don't worry, I've been able to think up an extra additive to the plot that'll completely shock you! I leave you to guess what it is.

Oh, and by the way, raven'smylife asked why I'm not writing the Titans' replies anymore. Well, the answer is quite simple. Every time I try, the file gets corrupted and I have to write the whole chapter from the beginning!

Remember to review!

See YA!


	23. Old truths, new lies and a Message

Chapter Twenty Two: Old Truths, New Lies

"Dude, I can't believe she didn't tell me!" Beast Boy was furious. He was pacing through Cyborg's room, with the android watching him anxiously, fearing for his own life. Discovering Raven's secret sent the green boy into a fit of rage, he wasn't thinking clearly, Cyborg knew that, but said nothing; he didn't want his friend's rage to be turned at him, knowing Raven did Beast Boy wrong by not telling him.

"I mean, each time I talk to her, I spill my heart, literally putting it on my sleeve, and when she does something so meaningful, she plays all 'nothing's wrong'" the teen kicked one more can that was on the floor and then fell down, legs thrown sideways, hands grabbing his hair, he roared with frustration

"B, maybe she had a good-" Cyborg tried, but was cut short by the changeling's outburst

"Don't you defend her, dude!" he exclaimed "She knows how much Terra means to me and-" now it was Cyborg's turn to yell

"Maybe that's why she kept it a secret? Did you think of that? Maybe she doesn't want to wake sleeping emotions, know what I mean?" Beast Boy's face turned red with rage

"What Terra and I had was in the past! Those emotions are gone!" he got up and threw his hands sideways. Cyborg's human eye narrowed

"Then why did you say 'How much Terra **means** to me'?" the green one clutched his fists and bit his lip, eyes shut with rage. He raised one palm into the air, but then brought it down, turned and began walking towards the door

"Oh no, you don't" Cyborg shot from his seat and blocked the door with his large metallic body

"Listen here, and listen good" the human machine was raging, his nostrils were flaring, face painted bright red

"Raven is one of my best friends, and I won't let anything happen to her. If you're planning to pull a second Malchior move, you better back off, 'cause it's not gonna happen" At those words, and his friend's hateful tone, Beast Boy morphed into a green Ram and knocked the metallic man out of his way, storming out of the room.

As the dust settled down, Cyborg looked around his room; the door was torn off its hinges and thrown outside, other that that, A-O.K

"Maybe I did go a bit too harsh on him…" he told himself and set off to find his green amigo.

(S)

A groan

"Almost got it…" he muttered

A second one

"Just a bit to the left, no, no, too much left" he twisted his right arm like a contortionist, trying to break the yellow shackle binding it into place

"Take a deep breath…and kiss your good throwing arm goodbye" he pulled hard towards himself, and could feel his shoulder dislocating and bottled his scream of pain

_Craaaaack!_

The limp and lifeless arm fell through the bind, and dangled by his side, but he forced his palm against the wall behind him, and pushed as hard as he could

"AAAAAARGH!" his scream echoed through the stony cavern, nearly shaking it. He looked down on his battered body and charred belt

"_Oh yeah, great idea tripping the power core, Einstein_" he thought and swore. Detonating the Xenothium power core could've been his last dumb move ever; it could've killed him, unless of course, he was already dead.

Once getting back the feeling in his arm, he reached the left side of his belt and pulled out a small, black, pistol-looking device, completed with a red crisscross in the front portion. He didn't even bother aiming, and shot the red X at the opposing wall, using the incredible power of the grappling hook to pull himself free of the other shackle

"Free at last" came the words as he used his feet to break the impact with the wall. Landing crouched, he scanned his surrounding; a dark cavern, with only one exit, the smell of brimstone was in the air, churning his nostrils. X took a few steps into the darkness, but then bumped into something, something _human_

"_The chick_" his brain alarmed him; he jumped back into a fighting stance, but as time passed, the girl said and did nothing. Relaxing, X squinted, and took a harder look at the figure; it did look like the girl, he could see that for sure

But she was made of stone.

"What in the world…?" X mused as he circled the odd statue. The girl, Terra, as he read on the plaque that was placed at the statue's feet, was apparently a Teen Titan, but her battle dressing; X knew the styled S in the middle of her breast plate.

Slade

"Raked up first place in the bad joke contest" he muttered and headed towards the small exit; a hole in the cavern's wall, but as he did, he began hearing something. At first, it wasn't audible, but as he came closer, the voice became clearer

"_My name is Terra, and I have done horrible things_" X's head snapped sideways, trying to find the source of the voice

"_I have sworn to the dark master_" the voice continued "_I obeyed his every command and committed crimes in his name_"

"_I have betrayed and attacked everyone who used to be my friend. One by one, I have destroyed the Teen Titans_"

"Big whoop… So did I" the thief said to himself and sat on a rock near the exit. Disregarding him, the voice went on

"_And with no one left to stop me…"_

"_I brought the city down to its knees_" X grinned under his mask. Another crazy chick on a power trip, no wonder she ended up dead

"_My name is Terra, I have done horrible things_"

"_And I have absolutely. No. Regrets_" with that, the voice was silenced. X got off the rock and dusted his cape. He headed towards the exit, now walking through a long tunnel, with no light at the end. The masked teen looked left and right to see the walls of the tunnel filled with strange pictures; Beast Boy, Terra, Beast Boy and Terra. Walking, talking to each other, holding hands, hugging; the green one's arms around her, closing in towards a kiss…

And Slade

"_A walk down memory lane_" he mused. The tunnel came to a surprised end, leaving the thief in some sort of round hall. As he looked around, he saw the ceiling was lit up by millions of small candles that spread an eerie atmosphere through the brown and black shades of the cavern

That's when he heard the footstep

Right behind him

"Who are you?" X asked. In his mind, he already knew the character's answer

"If I wanted you to know that, would I be wearing a mask?" replied the man.

And charged

(S)

"_And I'll…hear you scream again…_

_Black Hole Sun, won't you come_

_And wash away the…"_

"Raven, we need to talk" the voice broke through the barrier of sound Raven has prepared. The Goth girl jumped up from her bed to see the ethereal form of Terra, standing in front of her, the blonde's legs hidden inside the violet sheets.

"Why did you leave X unwatched? You know he can-" Raven started, but was cut off

"That's exactly why" Terra said "This X guy, he's good, he's better than I thought. We only fought one time, and he almost defeated me. I had to use my soul self to-" now it was Raven's turn to rage

"You showed him your soul-self?" she yelled, her eyes flaring out sparks of dark energy "He's not ready to face your soul-self yet!" Raven was positive; Terra had gone too far this time. The soul self is the last resort of spirits traveling in the astral plain; a form of defense that releases one's inner powers and intensifies its skills by ten folds

"Providing he wasn't able to use his powers, you were right" Terra tried to reason with the raging girl, but was attacked again

"What powers? The whole concept of 'powers' doesn't apply to Red-X! He's using a suit!" Raven threw at her

"Well maybe he's gone too far" Terra's voice dropped, she sounded scared by her own words

"What if you were wrong?" she continued "What if the suit; this Red-X, didn't become a new side in his personality, what if it…somehow, integrated into it?" Raven's jaw dropped, synchronizing perfectly with the widening of the violet orbs in her eyes

"Is that even possible?" Terra shrugged and smiled awkwardly towards her

"I don't really know…I'm kinda new to this whole spirit stuff myself, remember?" the geokinetic girl looked at Raven for a couple more awkward minutes of silence

"Then… I guess I'll go now" she said and started fading away slowly. Raven stared at the disappearing body for a few more seconds and then let out a quick "Wait!" that made Terra's body resume its spiritual etherealness

"Hmmm…?" she said and stared at the half demon with two wide blue eyes. Raven wanted to lie, to say it was nothing, to say it could wait

But she couldn't

"Beast Boy…" she bit her lip "Do you still have feelings for him?" Terra gave her an odd look

"Was that all?" she shrugged and smiled "Of course I don't!" she lied "Besides, I'm a spirit now, even if had feelings for him, there's nothing I can do about it" at those words, Raven's heart missed a beat, she could feel the beating pulse in her neck

"That's…" Terra's face changed from the giddy blonde girl to full shock as that word slipped out

"That's not completely true"

(S)

"Finally ready!" exclaimed a satisfied Boy Wonder and stepped back with excitement. After five straight hours of work, he had finally done it. He carefully observed his creation; still not colored, the silvery metal glowed back at his shining eyes as they traveled across the object that was his hands work, the streamline design, the powerful engine, the handling bar, the throttle and the signature R on the back

He reconstructed the R-Cycle, all by himself

"Man, Bruce would've been proud!" he announced, taking a stroll around the bike. As he passed near the large seat from the left, he jumped on it, leaning forward, grabbing the handling bars and pretending to be driving; he shifted his body weight from side to side and made engines noises through his mouth. He was so into the experience that he let his imagination run wild, pretending to be on the highway, passing cars as he did before he used his trusty bike to attack Slade. In his daydream, music played in his head, he closed his eyes and listened carefully

"_Get yer motor runnin'. Head on to the highway. Lookin' for adventure… And whatever comes-_"

"Robin?"

At that word, he let out a surprised scream and fell off the side of his bike. An amused Starfire tried to bottle her smile, but couldn't

"Forgive me, Robin. I did not mean to frighten you" she apologized. Behind the bike, Robin frowned

"You didn't scare me, I was just, surprised" he returned, but wished to take his words after seeing his beloved alien smiling even wider. Her emerald eyes scanned the metallic object and her smile grew wider, beyond human proportions if Robin dared to think

"The R-Cycle, it is complete, yes?" at that statement, Robin's head popped up from behind the bike's seat, giving a victorious grin

"Almost" he said "The bike's all around done, I just need to paint-" the alien princess jumped up and down, giggling and clapping

"I love painting! May I be of assistance?" she asked giddily. Robin, who had already got up, threw a white gas mask with two filters towards her

"You'll need this" he said. Starfire looked at the mask with disgust. She despised masks, especially white ones. At a certain moment, she could have sword the white mask looked almost like a skull

"Must I?" she asked. Robin, who already had his on looked at her

"The fumes of the paint are pretty toxic, put it on" he replied

"I wish not to" she returned and discarded the object "My body is able to withstand toxins which your body cannot" she took one spray paint gun, blasted her finger with red paint and sniffed her finger

"See? Nothing is wrong!" she announced. Robin smiled and shrugged

"You do realize that's _quick_ drying paint, right?" he said and giggled. Starfire seemed shocked for a second, but the lit her finger with green energy, burning the red color off

"No harm done!" she exclaimed. The Boy Wonder already came over to her side of the bike and kneeled in front of it, holding a second spray gun

"The faster we'll be done, the faster I-" he stopped himself

"_It's a surprise dumb-dumb! Pipe down!_" his brain shouted.

"Yes? What is it?" she asked, kneeling beside him, also holding a spray gun

"Nothing" he replied. "Come on, let's do it"

With that, they started painting the R-Cycle, the process was not too long, but through which, Starfire started having a strange feeling in her head, it felt…

Lighter

And with no apparent reason, she started giggling, without any power to stop herself, the giggles just flowed out of her mouth. It took a while before Robin noticed that, but when he did, he turned towards her

"What's so funny?" he asked. That only made Starfire's laugh grow faster. She reached with her index finger and touched the masked boy's nose

"Your nose" she said. Robin raised an eyebrow

"My nose? What's so funny about my nose?" he asked, not realizing his companion's condition

"I have it" he finger was followed by her entire palm, closing in front of his face and returning closer to the girl's body. She opened her palm and discovered to her surprise that it was empty

"How did you do that?" she asked in a dazed voice and giggled again "Oh, I see it now. You're cheating!" she pulled off his gas mask, as she did, he gasped in stun, and started feeling light headed as well

"No I'm not" he said, fighting for grip "I think this paint mix is a bit too intoxicating" as he finished his sentence, Starfire exploded with laughter

"What? What did I say?" he cried.

"You said Imroglimazing!" she said and laughed again, holding her stomach with both hands. Robin slowly joined her, going quickly from small giggles to complete hysterics. After a while, the laugh died down, but Robin kept giggling, quietly

"What?" Starfire's dazed voice asked, he raised his head towards her

"Look at my finger" he said and raised his index finger in front of her face. After a few seconds of staring, he poked her right in the middle of her forehead and dropped to the floor, banging his fist on it. Starfire's surprised look changed quickly and she joined Robin in his laughing. And so they sat there, laughing with no apparent reason, they seemed to be laughing just for the sake of it.

Once done, Robin put his head on Starfire's exposed leg, the alien did not respond as she was well asleep, he felt drowsy as well, all that laughing took much more out of him than he thought

"Now I know what the Joker's talking about" he said to himself "Laughter CAN kill you"

(S)

"Okay…I've been trying to go easy on you, but now I'll start fighting for-" not even done with his false threat, X took a painful knee to the stomach that sent him rolling to his left, coughing sheer pain

"Don't waste your breath" spat his opponent and walked towards the mass of pain, formally known as Red-X. With a single hand placed under X's chin, the suited opponent lifted the thief and looked at him, masked eye to masked eye. The man was wearing a skin tight jet black suit with a red screaming bat shaped sign in the middle. Ears pointed upwards and two white slits that pierced right into X's soul. As the man's grip turned slowly into a chokehold, he grinned

"It's over now, you know it" he said. X's palms faintly tried to grab at his enemy's forearms, with a very loose grip. The man chuckled a sadistic laugh

"Don't bother, your belt is history, and so are you" he said. With a last effort, X's eyes narrowed

"Two words: Breath Mint" he said and used every last ounce of his strength to send a kick, right between the man's legs. The purpose of the kick was fulfilled as X was dropped face down to the cold floor, colliding with a faint cough of pain. Dazed, but not out

-

-

-

-

Ok, I'm sorry, I can't do this anymore.

My apologies to all of my readers, everywhere. As you have seen for sure, my last few chapters have been filled with nothing but pointless fight scenes and going nowhere fluff. The reason is simple: I'm all out of thinking.

I truly tried to figure out what to put in this chapter, and not making it a filler one, but as you have read, I failed, badly. So, as from now on, or at least until I come up with a descent idea, Tales of the Closet is officially on ice.

Feel free to flame me, I know I would. Heck, I'm doing it right now.

One final request. I know there are a whole lot of authors reading my story, so if you can, please give me some ideas, PLEASE!


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